It's the Perfect Story
by TheBrightestNight
Summary: So they say. • Luke was angry, which led to all the wrong choices, for all the wrong reasons. What if someone who knows him better than he knows himself was thrown in? Can she save him, or will her past give her a reason to hate the gods, too? Do the Fates have other plans? • All the wrong choices, for all the right reasons. Well, for one reason. Love conquers all. So they say.
1. One

**A/N: So, this is a re-write of my two previous PJO stories—Story of my Life and Life, or Something Like it.**

**It'll be a blast from the past because this is going to take place from The Lightning Thief to The Last Olympian. I have yet to finish Heroes of Olympus and have been unable to keep up with that series thus far. This will change very soon, though.**

**Anyway, as I was saying, a re-write. Difference: this will be one story, no AUs to AUs or originals, one story, one AU (sort of; you'll see why), featuring Luke and the OC I created for the past two. This will also be a bit more angst-y and sound more mature because my OC is considerably older than Percy was in TLT. Not only was I a novice and a newb to writing fanfic, I think I was trying too much to write like Rick Riordan. Only problem, my OC isn't Percy and I'm not Rick Riordan.**

**I will be keeping the other stories up, for comparison, nostalgia, for my old readers and other reasons I wouldn't be able to put into words.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"<em>Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King, Jr.<em>

Stormy Sailing

I didn't want to be here.

But I didn't want to be anywhere else either.

It was loud and chaotic, but at least their voices were many. It had become an indistinct roar of twittering voices. I didn't have to hear individuals and I had no way of making out their words with so many talking at once.

I didn't want to hear about the half-blood that had slayed the Minotaur anymore. I was tired of it. It'd been a few days and _still_ it was all the camp seemed to be able to talk about. Not only that, but they had, of course, started theorizing. We may have been half god, but that didn't make us any less human. And humans loved to talk, chatter, gossip and speculate.

If I heard this boy being the son of the "Big Three" one more time I swear I was going to—

Instead of preparing for my afternoon archery class with Chiron like I should've been doing, I was in the Hermes cabin, sitting on one of the bottom bunks (something I'd earned for being at Camp Half-Blood for so long), knees pulled up to my chest. I had to make a conscious effort not to rock back and forth, lest I look like a madwoman. I concentrated hard on this, staring at a spot on my bunk, my arms wrapped around my legs tightly.

In other words, I was trying to avoid the gossip as much as possible going on around camp. If that meant dealing with rowdy, noisy, mischievous children of Hermes and doing things to the last possible moment then so be it.

I heard the door open but paid no mind until I noticed the movement of a mass out of my peripherals. I inclined my head slightly to look around the cabin and noticed everyone bowing respectfully to Chiron, who was standing outside. I quickly slid off my bunk and bowed as well, before going back to it, only sitting on the edge instead of in the middle. My hands rested on either side of my legs on the edge of the bed, too, holding me up as I leaned forward, hunching my shoulders slightly, and I stared at a spot on the floor this time. I let my light blonde hair fall to partially hide my face.

Not that I really needed it. With it being so crowded in here, the rest of the kids would hide me in my little corner. Especially if they stood and I sat. Of course, that wasn't entirely the case. Some stood and some had sat back down since bowing to Chiron. Still, I had perfected becoming a wallflower.

"Well," I recognized Annabeth's voice. "Go on," she prompted. There was a moment of silence before the cabin broke out into a chorus of snickers and stifled chuckles. I didn't look up to see what had happened.

"Percy Jackson," Annabeth's voice rang through the cabin, as if she'd stepped inside, which in all fairness, she probably had. "Meet cabin eleven."

Another small moment of dead air.

"Regular or undetermined?" I called from my spot, not moving at all, not even my head to look up. I knew it was a question on everyone's minds and someone had to ask it. Since no one had yet, I decided I'd do us all a favor and ask.

"Undetermined," Annabeth answered, followed by a collective groan from the cabin. I suddenly recalled a small empty space having popped on the floor in here. That must've been for him.

Someone sat down next to me and gently bumped my shoulder. My hand came up to brush the hair I'd let fall in my face back behind my ear—stupid nervous tick—before I looked over to see who'd joined me and my eyes met with beautiful, glittering wintery blue eyes.

Luke.

Looking into his eyes now brought me back to the first time I _really_ looked into his eyes. Before then, we'd barely talked to each other. He kept to himself and Annabeth. I kept to myself and my twin brother, Daniel.

Camp Half-Blood, gods, Greek mythology, real weapons and real monsters, all of it was almost too much at the time. It was overwhelming, having never been exposed to them before this. Save once. And it hadn't been a particularly good experience either. So I and my brother, with our mom gone and an absent godly father, used each other as a crutch to make it through those first few months without completely falling apart.

I'd seen Luke because he'd been living in the Hermes cabin. Dan and I hadn't been claimed, so we were put there, too. I didn't meet him my first day I was there seeing as the Hermes cabin was as crowded as ever and he hadn't been the head counselor. I didn't even officially meet him in the first week. He was just another face in the Hermes cabin. I saw him there, in passing and sometimes in activities. Other than that, we both went about our lives pretty separately.

It had been the end of the first week at Camp Half-Blood. Chiron told me, my brother and a few other half-bloods that had also shown up around the same time we came that after a week of training with a multitude of weapons, in his class, they held this little… test of sorts. Like a final exam.

It was dangerous, but not so that anyone had died from it yet. Majorly injured, but not dead. I had wanted, at the time, to ask him what his definition of majorly injured was—in fact, I think I had—but he suddenly became hard of hearing.

The test was this: We were sent out into the forest, along different paths. In the forest were summoned monsters that we would encounter and fight. We were given the weapon that we'd been fairly good at throughout this first week to see if we could be moved up into the next class for that particular weapon.

Chiron said not to worry, though, because we'd have more skilled campers to help us if the need arose. They were also there to watch and give Chiron their evaluation after it was all over.

We were sent in, one at a time, periodically, so that our presence would be staggered and hopefully we wouldn't run into one another or into the same monster. I was third. Unlike the two before me, who seemed pretty amped to be doing this, I crept through the bushes and trees at a slow pace.

My senses had flared to hyper-alert mode. If a shadow moved, my head turned in that direction. I heard every little stir of bushes and rustle of leaves. I treaded carefully, trying to figure out where I was and where I was planning on heading, with an arrow nocked in my bow in case I needed to act fast.

Yes, I was given a bow and a quiver of arrows, because I'd shown an affinity for them during our initial training. So had my brother. No surprise there, we were twins.

This so-called test was insane. Everyone at this camp was insane. I was insane. Gods, monsters, centaurs, satyrs, naiads, wood nymphs, it was endless. And it was all real. You'd think I'd have accepted this fact, but apparently I hadn't. Not completely, anyway.

The rustle of leaves, followed by a low growl stopped me in my tracks. Chills rushed down my spine as I looked to my left out of my peripherals, but didn't dare move, didn't dare breath. I'd recognize the sound of that growl anywhere.

Hellhound.

My pulse pounded and I swallowed hard, trying to listen over the roar of blood in my ears. Breathing, I could hear it breathing. It was relatively large, then.

I took a deep, shaking breath, feeling my muscles coil ready to spring into action. I could do this. I could face my fear, my demon, literally and figuratively. I could _do_ this.

Quick as lightning, I raised my bow and arrow as I turned, taking a few steps back, away where the rustle had come from.

At my movement, the thing leapt out from the bushes it had been hiding in, coal black lips pull back over its muzzle, revealing slimy, slobbery razor-sharp teeth. My heart stopped and so did my breath.

All hellhounds must've looked almost exactly the same. Ink-black fur, those sharp-as-knives teeth and its eyes—

I blinked hard and looked away from its eyes. No, I couldn't look at its eyes. I felt my world tilt slightly and my ears rung with echo-y, far away screams and I'd barely even glanced at them.

I raised my bow again, for my arms had somewhat dropped at the sight of the thing, keeping my eyes on the point on its forehead I was going to shoot.

I could do this. I was _going_ to do this. I was going to overcome my fear.

It lunged at me and I was just about to let my arrow fly when I made the mistake of looking into its glowing, lava red eyes again.

My mind panicked. It all came flooding back to me, into my head, like a movie playing behind my eyes that I couldn't stop, couldn't escape from.

The image of the hellhound flying through the air at me blurred, replaced by horrifying flashbacks. Screams filled my ears. Moving, pulsing black covered my vision before being spattered with blood red.

The screams got louder.

A woman's voice, shrill and terrified. A name mixed in with her cries of agony, her cries of help.

"_Please! Help me! Apollo, please! Please! Apollo, help me, please! Apollo!_"

I sucked in a sharp breath as my vision snapped back into place. I was on the ground now, the hellhound hanging over me. I somehow had managed, through my haze, to put my hands around the hound's neck, keeping its now snapping jaws from anything vital.

It wasn't nearly as big as the one I'd seen before.

I didn't know where my arrow had ended up flying and my bow obviously wasn't in my hand. I was too busy trying to stay alive, though, to really care. I vaguely wondered where the camper who was supposed to be helping me was when the monster reminded me that its paws were still free.

It swiped at me and I turned my head away. A sharp pain blossomed in my neck, followed by a warmth that spilled down the cool skin of my neck and onto the forest floor. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but my right hand suddenly came away from the hound to cover the wound on my neck. My other hand, not strong enough to hold up the monster alone, buckled, letting the monster fall fully on top of me.

Its previous flailing paws landed hard on either side of my head. Its face got right into mine and I thought for sure I was a goner, but it yelped suddenly before falling to its side, off of me, and melting into the shadows in the forest, just like the other one.

Meanwhile, blood continued to pour out, through my fingers, and the summer sky and trees above me spun. Light blue mixed in with spring green and dark brown.

My breathing became more erratic and I tried to blink away the watercolor sky.

An artery, I thought a little absentmindedly, though I didn't know where that information had come from. The hellhound's claw had only nicked my neck, but it had nicked an artery in my neck. I was going to bleed out in seconds.

I was going to die.

It was then did I finally see Luke, _really_ see him, for the first time.

I would find out later, Luke had sprinted from wherever he was to me, getting rid of the monster before kneeling down next to me, putting his hand over my bloodied one as more of that vital fluid poured from my substantially small wound. He had turned his head away and yelled something too, but I was too far gone already to know what he'd said. Then his eyes were back on me. His lips were moving, but no sound from what I could tell was coming out. So I focused on his eyes.

His blue eyes had been wide and concerned—for me, when we'd barely known each other?—and I wasn't sure if that's why I'd finally realized how lovely they were or because I was losing so much blood, my life slowly ebbing away as it did so.

They reminded me of winter, of crystal clear ice that's been frozen over a mineral blue lake.

"You have beautiful eyes," I remember myself saying before promptly passing out.

Luke suddenly gave my knee a reassuring squeeze—breaking me out of my memory—followed by a reassuring smile before standing up and making his way from my bunk and over to the newcomer.

"Now, now campers," he said loudly, knowing how annoyed and tired they felt to have even less space in this already crowded cabin. "That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy." Ah, so that was his name. "You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."

I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, there was the empty spot I'd noticed earlier. I then looked over at Luke.

He was nineteen years old. He was a tall, muscular guy with, as I said, wintery blue eyes and short-cropped sandy hair. He always had a smile for everyone, though I'd noticed after spending about a year with him (and after), it was very forced. He was a good actor, because no one else had seemed to notice, if they had, no one ever said anything. But I had and since then, made it my goal to make him genuinely smile. From our first meeting to now, I'd managed it a few dozen times or so, and counting.

After that whole encounter with the hellhound and almost dying, it was in the infirmary, where he came to visit and apologize for not getting there sooner, did we finally actually exchange names.

I was good with a bow, but I had also wanted to learn swordsmanship, and Luke had already become an assistant teacher in those classes. I realized, later, when sparing with him, that it was because he was good.

He was much better than I, for some obvious reasons and some not so, and it intrigued me. When he fought, he got a very determined, very concentrated look on his face. His technique was that of someone who'd been doing this before. It made me wonder what had happened before he came here.

He was a very mysterious character when I'd first met and got to know him. Now I knew him like the back of my hand.

My eyes slid over to Percy (a much younger, tanned boy with jet black hair and odd sea-green eyes) for a moment, just in time to see an unsettled look cross his face. At a guess it was probably due to Luke's scar. A scar that started just below his right eye and went all the down to his jaw, received from a dragon. It had taken a long time for me to get him to genuinely smile after that incident.

We had both arrived at Camp Half-Blood only a few weeks apart, so I'd known him before and after the scar. We were also both year-rounders. As was Annabeth.

"This is Luke," Annabeth introduced. My eyes strayed to her. She was blushing. I turned my head back to the spot on the floor, smiling and rolling my eyes. A lot of girls blushed when Luke was around. The Aphrodite girls (and some boys) wouldn't shut up about him.

We had shared intimate moments, exchanged secrets and confessed our deepest, darkest thoughts. We both had scars from our past, physical and mental and we'd grown close over the six years together. But, right now, we were just best friends. I wasn't sure if he wanted to make it something more and I wasn't even sure if _I_ wanted to, either, so right now it was locked off in a room in the far recesses of my mind. I had more important things to be thinking about.

"He's your counselor for now," Annabeth finished, her voice harder than before. I suspected it was because Percy had looked at her. No doubt he'd noticed the change in her voice, too. He may have been young from a glance, but he wasn't that oblivious. Especially when Annabeth didn't exactly make her crush a secret. I'd bet you ten gold drachmas the whole camp knew.

"For now?" Percy asked.

"You're undetermined," Luke explained in a carefully crafted, practiced patient voice. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here." I unconsciously started mouthing along as Luke continued his little speech, having heard it so many time before. "Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

There was a long pause before Percy spoke.

"How long will I be here?" he asked.

"Good question," Luke replied as I scoffed under my breath. "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?"

The cabin broke out into laughter this time.

And I was late for my archery class.

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><p><strong>Original story idea was formed from "Lost in Your Own Life" by Alexa Vega. The title and part of the summary is from the song "So They Say" from Dr. Horrible. I thought I'd stick with this "story and life" theme I had going on.<strong>

**If you don't know Dr. Horrible and go listen to the song, it won't make too much sense, and it'll also sound really upbeat and happy, don't be fooled, though, because I find it has some very sad undertones. Which is also why I named this story after one of the song's lyrics.**

**Also, I now have a section on my profile page for in-progress story updates. If I miss a day (if I ever get on a schedule) or if I'm taking too long, you can go check that section out. It will be clearly labeled and so will the section for this story in particular.**

**Well, it's good to be back in the saddle. I haven't posted anything in so long, I forgot my sign off!**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	2. Two

Achievement Unlocked: Master of Archery

The campers continued to snicker and chortle as Annabeth practically dragged Percy out. She was speaking to him, but the laughter was too loud and I didn't care to pay attention. I sighed and stood up, closing my eyes, but keeping them pointed at the floor. I stretched a tiny bit before carefully making my way around the still laughing campers, stepping over legs, feet, hands, sleeping bags, personal possessions, etc.

I passed Luke in the middle of the cabin, who put his hand lightly on my shoulder. He gave me a small smile and I managed somewhat of a smile back, putting my hand over his, before continuing toward the door and outside in sweltering heat. The summer sun was intense overhead. It reminded me of that cliché, high noon.

I almost pulled up the sleeves of my shirt—they only went down to my elbows—but caught myself and pulled them unnecessarily back into place. I always wore these shirts in the summer. It didn't matter what temperature it was, I never took them off and I never went without them.

My first summer here, those who were brave enough to ask about why I wore those kinds of shirt, even when it got really hot, did. I never answered them. Too personal. I didn't say that to them, though, I simply told them personal choice and left it at that. People stopped asking.

Winter and fall were easier, because long-sleeved shirts were expected. No one asked questions then. Sometimes, brave newcomers would ask now and again, but I said the same thing as I always had.

As soon as I got outside I ran to the armory to grab a bow and quiver of arrows before running straight into the forest, to my class with Chiron. I hope I hadn't missed too much. As I headed toward the forest, though I heard a scream that broke the sound barrier. I stopped short and looked around, trying to see what'd happened. I saw a crowd congregating near the bathrooms, but I was already plenty late to my class. If a crowd was gathering and there was no more screaming then it couldn't have been life-threatening.

As I got closer to where he usually started the class, I slowed and tried not to sound like I'd just sprinted from my cabin, to the armory and then here. I wasn't sure how late I was, either. I never wore a watch, I didn't see the need to. Now I kind of wished I did.

Still slightly panting, I stopped at the back of the group, hoping to look like I'd been there the whole time. Of course, I should've known Chiron would notice my absence. I don't know why I thought otherwise.

"Oh, Tori!" he exclaimed a few moments after I showed up. I froze, holding my breath as the rest of the group turned to look at me. Most of them were smirking. This was a relatively small class (there was a different archery masters' class for other campers with conflicts in their schedule with this one), so I should've known _no one_ would've missed my short absence.

I thought for sure he was going to chew me out in front of the rest of the campers. He did kind of the opposite, though I wasn't sure if it was worse or better at the time.

"Thank you," Chiron continued, "for volunteering to go first!"

I blinked. First for what? I looked at the rest of the class, trying to decipher what he meant. They were dressed in Greek battle armor and though this was an archery class, some of them held other weapons: swords, spears, I think I even saw an axe or two.

Oh. _Oh! _I had completely blanked. We had a test today to see how far we'd come this summer. It was like a mid-term.

One of the Apollo campers closest to me snickered. "Good luck," he muttered under his breath.

I glared at him through narrowed eyes.

Most of the class was made up of demigods from the Apollo cabin. There were only three others that weren't, including me (technically speaking). The other two were from the Athena cabin.

"Now why don't you don your armor so that we may begin," Chiron suggested, bringing my attention back to him. I nodded mutely and went to put on the gear: a bronze breastplate and helm.

They weren't ordinary breastplates and helms, however. Curtesy of the Hephaestus and Athena cabins—Hephaestus for forging, Athena for the idea and help with anatomy of the body. They were like a combination between laser tag gear and fencing gear. If a weapon hit the breastplate or helm, a light would flash: white if it did minor damage, blue if it did major damage, red if it was fatal. It was quite modern for how old-age things seemed at camp sometimes.

Chiron informed us of the perimeters of the test—about an eight-yard by eleven-yard rectangle—before trotting off to watch from the sidelines. I stood in the middle, and waited for opponents to attack me. I couldn't go out of my even smaller rectangular perimeter or the test would be over and I'd get an automatic F, if Chiron graded with letters.

"Begin!" he called once he was in place.

I nocked an arrow in my bow, all my senses flaring as I looked around, waiting for someone to come at me.

Pounding footsteps hit my ear, coming toward my right and slightly behind me. I swiftly turned, lifting my bow and arrow and just as soon letting my arrow fly at the Apollo girl who was wielding a sword. The arrow made contact—her breastplate flashing red—just as I nocked another arrow and heard more running footsteps behind me.

I quickly turned before letting my next arrow fly, too. It made contact with his helm, another flash of red as I nocked my third arrow.

To my left I saw high movement. Another Apollo camper standing on a branch in a tree, aiming their own arrow at me.

I sidestepped their arrow before launching mine.

Another red.

I nocked my next arrow as I looked over my shoulder, to see an Apollo camper just as he threw a spear at me. I was fancier with my dodge this time, spinning out of the line of the spear before raising my bow and letting my arrow fly once I came out of my spin.

Red.

I nocked another arrow, sounds of rapid footsteps coming from behind again. Another Apollo camper. She had the axe. Before she could even think about throwing it, I launched my arrow.

Red.

I nocked another arrow as another Apollo camper sprinted out from behind a tree. He had a sword and I had to take a few more moments to line up the shot because he was moving, dodging and weaving between trees.

Red.

A different Apollo camper appeared mere feet away from me with their bow and arrow as I nocked another arrow, but he made the mistake of coming at me from the direction their sibling had run and I easily shot at him.

Red.

Yet another Apollo came at me from the same direction only farther away. He'd learned from their fallen sibling to throw sooner and did. I was surprised he could throw so far, but wasn't surprised by the accuracy.

Somewhat prepared, I ducked into a roll (making sure to keep within my restricted area), the axe sailing over my head, and as soon as I was upright, nocked an arrow and shot.

Red.

Rapid footsteps behind me again. I spun, kneeling on one knee as I nocked an arrow. I shot at the first Athena camper I'd seen since the test began. Three things happened then almost simultaneously: Her breastplate flashed blue, I quickly nocked and shot another arrow, and a thud sounded from behind me, like someone had just dropped from a tree.

I swiveled around as soon as I saw that flash of red just in time to dodge a swipe from the other Athena camper's knife, which also forced me to take a step back. He was closer than anyone else had gotten to me today.

Another slash, another dodge, another step back.

I was sure his half-sister had been a distraction.

Slash. Dodge. Step back.

I'd expected and anticipated something thought-out from children of Athena.

Slash. Dodge. Step back.

I was about two steps away from my perimeter before I realized what he was trying to do.

I had to act now or I'd fail this exam.

Slash. Dodge. Step back.

He wasn't giving me time to nock an arrow!

But I refused to fail. I was going to prove to these Apollo campers that I was just as good, if not better, than them. I was going to prove to Apollo that I _was_ his daughter.

I threw my bow into my right hand and threw my left hand up to block his slash before kicking him square in the chest. His breastplate flashed white and he stumbled back, looking slightly surprised. This lasted about a second before he threw his knife at me.

It was a twirling blur and I sidestepped throwing my bow back into my left hand, while also leaning my head slightly to the left, just in time. It flew past my ear, scraping the metal of my helmet it had come so close. As soon as it passed me I reached back for another arrow in my quiver. While I did this, my opponent pulled out another knife.

I nocked my arrow as he started to run at me. I had to take a step back, putting me at the boundary line, but I raised my bow just as he threw a swipe at me. Almost simultaneously I let my arrow go and leaned back just enough that the knife, and his hand holding the hilt, flew straight over me in an arc.

I quickly straightened up, automatically reaching for another arrow. There were none left and, at first, I panicked before I realized that what I was seeing in front of me was the Athena camper's helm fading from having just flashed red.

I sighed and relaxed.

It was over and I hadn't stepped out of my boundaries.

There was no cheering, though, or "good jobs!" or pats on the back. We simply moved onto the next person. I traded my bow for a sword, then an axe (admittedly, I didn't use this weapon often), then a knife, then a spear before I went back to a bow and arrow, and so on and so forth.

The whole class was exhausted afterward, even with that break in between. I was slower than the rest at taking my armor off. Chiron stayed behind.

"You did well today," he commented as we started walking at a leisurely pace out of the forest.

I shrugged. "Just comes naturally to me, I guess." I mumbled, thinking about my brother. He'd been claimed by Apollo. I hadn't been. It was an awkward moment for everyone. An indefinite-lasting awkward moment. But no one would mention it. Not even Chiron. It had almost become an unspoken rule, taboo to speak about.

I don't know why. Why Apollo hadn't claimed me, too. Why no one wanted to mention or bring it up. At this point, I didn't think I wanted to know either. But it was something that'd happened.

Even if people hadn't known Dan was my brother, or couldn't see the resemblance, if they'd been watching, they'd surely figured out who my godly parent was. I excelled at archery, making to the masters' class faster than even some of the Apollo campers. A majority of Chiron's class today had been filled with campers who were at least three or four years older than me _and_ year-rounders, including the two Athena children.

Still, no one said a word. I found I preferred it that way.

"The harpies wanted me to mention to you…" Chiron started after a moment of silence. I sighed heavily and he trailed off. "Listen, Tori, I know you want to train with as many weapons as you can, but they're becoming tired of being… well, being—"

"Turned to dust," I deadpanned.

"Archery is a great skill to have." Chiron continued practically over me. "I think knowing it well and having sufficient skills in swordsmanship, a spear and a knife will do you fine. Not to mention I've gotten word from… some of the other campers you've been training in hand-to-hand combat." He gave me a sidelong glance at he finished his sentence.

I met his gaze for a moment. "I know," I said, finally having to look away, down at the ground. We'd had this conversation before. Archery came naturally to me. I'd found, while training here, that I also liked the three weapons Chiron had just listed, so I trained with those, too. "I just…" I lifted my hands, seeing a familiar celestial bronze letter opener in my hands. I fisted them and the image dissipated. "I _want_ to do this. I want to know how to protect myself, should I run out of arrows. Or my bow breaks. Or it's taken from me. I want to be able to defend myself, worst case scenario."

I had nightmares. A lot. So I'd go to the amphitheater to train in the middle of the night. This meant getting in to trouble with harpies. I mostly just dusted them. Well, okay, I _always_ dusted them. Which was becoming annoying to Mr. D, the harpies and Chiron.

I was never punished by Chiron or Mr. D, because neither of them had actually _seen_ me. No solid evidence, no punishment. They only knew because the harpies probably told them after reforming.

Chiron was silent for a long time. I looked up at him. His face was contemplative, deep in thought.

"I can't fault you for that," he finally said quietly as I turned to face forward again. "However, that doesn't necessarily mean you can go and break camp rules. We have those in place for a reason."

I looked back up at Chiron. "Maybe if you just told them—"

"I cannot," he interrupted. "If I let you off with a free pass, then I would—"

"—would have to give everyone else a free pass." I finished. "I know. It doesn't hurt to ask."

"For the hundredth time?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

I blushed and looked away again.

"Just try to tone it down, Tori, okay? Stay in your cabin after dark. Remember what I told you when you get anxious or restless?"

"Yes," I sighed. "I try, honestly, I do."

There was a pregnant pause as we continued our walk.

Chiron spoke again as the armory came into view. "Just don't get caught by the harpies anymore."

My head snapped up at Chiron's suggestion. He was no longer looking at me, but I could see he was trying to hide a smile.

"Thanks, Chiron," I said. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Goodbye, Tori," he said, nodding at me before cantering off.

I sluggishly put my bow and quiver of arrows away before slogging over to the Hermes cabin.

It was just as crowded and loud as it had been when I left. I rubbed my temples as I made my way through the crowd and tried not to step on anyone or anything. I wasn't trying very hard, though, considering how tired I felt. It was a miracle I _didn't_ step on anything.

My ears perked when I heard Luke's voice. I automatically looked to where his voice had come from (a bad habit I'd developed). He was sitting next to Percy in his little spot on the floor. I wasn't quite sure what Luke had said because I'd really only heard the tone and timbre of his voice. It'd been harsh and bitter.

Another bad habit I'd developed: whenever Luke was upset, I'd pick up on it straightaway. I noticed he did the same with me. We were never able to hide when we were upset from each other. It was an annoyance only a little bit, in that initial moment he asks me what's wrong, but nice the rest of the time.

"Don't worry about it, Percy." Luke continued, his voice lightening, but I could still hear the tense edge to it. He was forcing the lightness. "The camper's here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."

I continued to my bed and plopped down on it, my head where my feet usually where when I slept. I laid in a semi-supine position, throwing both my arms over my face. I was half-asleep, my head swimming and pounding I was so tired, as I continued to listen to Luke and Percy's conversation.

Percy said, "Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material." I sighed. Of course as soon as I'd come back I'd hear the boy himself talking about the gossip going on around camp. That was probably my punishment for eavesdropping. "Then Annabeth…" Percy continued. "Twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?"

"I hate prophecies." Luke answered flatly.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked totally oblivious. I flinched. He was straying into dangerous territory.

"Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else." Even falling asleep, I could hear the harshness in Luke's voice. "The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests."

I sighed again, remembering when he'd come back as I drifted into sleep.

Remember, when I'd said it'd taken a long time to get Luke to smile genuinely after he came back from his quest? It took me exactly a year and a day. (Even then, since that day, I'd only managed genuine smiles once, maybe twice every month.)

When he came back, for a whole week, he avoided me.

At that point in our relationship, we hadn't told each other our deepest, darkest secrets. We'd grown much closer in those last three years, but it wasn't the trust-each-other-inherently kind of close. It was just a friendship kind of close. We saw each other and complained about how crowded the Hermes cabin was, we had classes together, he helped me become more skilled at swordsmanship, and he'd at least told me a little about why he was so mad at his own father when Dan was claimed and I wasn't (something bad had happened to his mother and Hermes hadn't been there to help).

The reason he had such a scar was because he refused to drink nectar, refused to eat even the tiniest amount of ambrosia. He refused Chiron's help, the Apollo campers help. I had even offered to help, though I'd never done healing since I'd gotten here. I'd seen some of the Apollo campers do it before, I didn't think it'd be that hard to figure out.

He still refused.

He trained harder and was angrier than before. It was so difficult to see such a change in him like that. But I was there for him as much as I could be because he seemed more distant, too. I made sure to constantly remind him of that fact, though, to make sure I was getting through to him. I didn't think I was, because he didn't want to talk about what had happened with me. I wasn't sure if he told Annabeth, I didn't really care (or so I thought), but I wanted to just talk to him in earnest, so he wouldn't keep his emotions bottled up.

It wasn't until the end of last summer did he actually smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners, his eyes lighting up in the way that took my breath away.

"Eleven, fall in!" Luke's voice shattered through my dozing thoughts and I opened my eyes, blinking. I didn't move from where I was lying on my bed through. I was still as exhausted at ever. I didn't _want_ to move. I wanted everyone to go to dinner without me and let me sleep, alone, here, in peace and quiet, _for once_.

After a few moments of scuffling feet and chattering demigods, the noise died down. There was a moment of silence, in which I didn't budge, before I heard footsteps approach me. I still didn't move.

"Tori," Luke's voice came from above. I ignored him. "Tori, I know you're not asleep. It's time for dinner."

I flopped my arms away from my face, sprawling them out on either side and looked up at him. He was standing slightly over me with a hand resting on the top bunk. One of his eyebrows was raised in a silent question.

"I'm too tired, carry me," I joked. Luke's eyes widened before he blinked, the slightest of blushes staining his cheeks. Chuckles and giggles rushed through the waiting Hermes cabin behind him. Luke looked away from me and cleared his throat, struggling for a moment to get his cool back.

As he did this, I reached forward and up to grasp the top of the end of the bed frame above me, before lifting myself and swinging off the bed, forcing Luke to take a step back. I straightened my shirt before turning to face him.

"By your leave," I said, slightly bowing toward him while waving my hand toward the door in a flourish.

Luke glared at me through narrowed eyes, but there was a smile on his face. Without another word, he started toward the door, the rest of the half-bloods falling in. I was right behind him because it went by seniority.

Together, the Hermes cabin headed to the dining pavilion for dinner.

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it, chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed (even if it is, kind of, filler). It was still fun to write, and I hope it was fun to read. It also gives you a tiny bit more of Tori's backstory, so….<strong>

**I'd like to credit Catching Fire (the movie) for giving and helping me with the idea of what to do for Tori's masters' archery class. The scene I used as a blueprint/guide was when Katniss was in the training arena and showing off her archery skills in that rectangular box with those orange lasers that created orange holograms.**

**Chapter 3, hopefully, coming soon.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	3. Three

How Serendipitous

I never really liked eating in the dining pavilion. It wasn't that it wasn't pretty or that the food was bad. It was the fact that the Hermes cabin barely fit at the table. Personal space? A thing of the past.

We all squished together, to try to give room for everyone, but I knew the people at the end had to sit with half their backside hanging off the edge. That's why I tried not to sit on the edges anymore. I learned this the hard way. Not that I really had to worry about being pushed to the edge, though, because Luke usually saved a seat for me next to him. Also, I was right behind him in line, so I got to the table pretty quickly.

Tonight, he still saved me a seat, with Percy on his other side, only the new camper had the unfortunate luck of sitting on the end.

We raised our glasses to the gods and then the food was brought forward. As tired as I was, my stomach was growling for food, nourishment, sustenance to replenish my empty energy reserves. I'd missed lunch because I'd decided instead of eating something and preparing for my archery class like a normal person would do, I was huddled in a ball, in my cabin, on my bed.

So I guess it was a good thing I'd come to dinner, as much as I didn't want to. With the table being too crowded and the Ares cabin behind me, it wasn't the best, most pleasant experience ever. I'd gotten used to it, that didn't mean I liked it.

I also tried to tune Luke and Percy's conversation out as much as I could. Kind of hard considering I always honed in on Luke when he was speaking and the fact that I was sitting right next to him, but I tried. Besides, he was just showing Percy how things worked around here—when they got up to give offering to the gods, I did the same—so their conversation was going to be boring and routine.

At the end of dinner, with a majority of the campers having finished eating, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor to grab our attention.

Mr. D then stood up letting out a sigh loud enough you could probably hear it from a mile away. "Yes," he drawled. "I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."

Behind me came the cheers and shouts of the Ares cabin. I hunched my shoulders a bit, slightly afraid I'd get hit by something.

"Personally," Mr. D continued making his voice louder than the cheers. "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you we have a new camper today." He sounded absolutely bored out of his skull. "Peter Johnson."

Chiron leaned over to murmur in Mr. D's ear while some people from cabin eleven snickered.

"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected not sounding embarrassed or sorry at all. "That's right. Hurrah and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."

All the campers cheered as they got up from their tables and started toward the amphitheater. I stayed seated, picking at the remnants of food on my plate. Luke brushed my shoulder with his hand as he left and I put my hand on top of his briefly as it was sliding off my shoulder, but didn't look up at him.

The pavilion became silent. Someone cleared their throat and my head snapped up to see Mr. D and Chiron still at their own table. Probably waiting for me.

Mr. D was outwardly glaring at me, daring me to disobey rules (although, I didn't think going to the bonfire was a required activity at camp) and Chiron was giving me a concerned but stern look, reminding me of our conversation about following the rules and not dusting the harpies.

I dropped my head back to my plate, wiping my fingers free of grease and quickly stood up, trudging past the amphitheater, where the Apollo kids had already started playing one of their songs, and to the cabins. Neither Chiron nor Mr. D tried to stop me so I continued on.

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

><p>I wasn't sure if I was more annoyed with Percy or myself for noticing Percy.<p>

I didn't like gossip. I didn't like idle banter. I didn't like rumors. So the fact that everywhere I went around camp I felt like I was bumping into Percy constantly was staring irk me. Notwithstanding the fact that he was in the Hermes cabin.

Don't get me wrong. Percy seemed like a sweet boy, innocent, kind… I don't know, a twelve-year-old! It was just… I'd been trying to avoid all this drama. I thought I'd been managing pretty well, but I was wrong. I still heard about how the head counselors were discussing who Percy's godly parent might me, how Percy wasn't good at this or that, or shot Chiron with an arrow. He had been all the camp could talk about while he was unconscious and now that he was conscious, it only grew worse. (What I was expecting, though, honestly?)

Not only that, but there were whispers of another rumor going around along with "the Big Three" rumor following Percy. It had something to do with a theft, but that was all I really heard by accident. If anyone knew more information and talked about it while I was around, I hadn't been paying attention.

Anyway, the week continued on and I couldn't seem to get away from the gossip. Or Percy. I felt like I was always passing him as I hopped from activity to the next. I'd occasionally bump into him on the canoe lake, too, because I liked to paddle out to the middle and practice my guitar, think, maybe take a light nap. I suppose I could've stopped going onto the lake if I didn't want to see him there, but it felt like the only time I could get some peace and quiet away from the buzzing camp, away from the crowded Hermes cabin. Besides, it wasn't like we talked, he was just there and I was just there.

It was just annoying seeing him all the time and then turning around and hearing someone talk about him.

And it wasn't just passing him or bumping into him on the canoe lake. I had an activity right before him, which was wrestling with the Ares kids. Although, I'd convinced the Ares cabin to help me train in hand-to-hand instead of wrestling. That's what Chiron was talking about when he brought up my training.

I don't know that he or Mr. D like it so much that I was changing the curriculum, however, neither of them did anything about it, so I figured I was okay.

When I say hand-to-hand, I don't just mean fighting without a weapon, I mean learning to fight and disarm someone with a weapon, where I had none. It was a bit extreme and I'd been wounded more than enough times doing it before I started getting better at it, because they did _not_ go easy on me, but it was something I'd wanted to do. And I was getting much, much better at it.

Of course, getting the Ares kids to agree to teach me was no easy task in the first place. Actually, the events that transpired before I asked them to do that for me were completely unintentional.

We were playing a game of capture the flag. I'd only been at Camp Half-Blood for about a month. Still, somehow I was landed with the task of guarding the flag with another teammate. The game had begun a bit ago and we'd managed to take some of the other team's people captive.

Suddenly, out of the gloom, came the noise that sounded like a large animal barreling through the underbrush. The other camper, also from the Hermes cabin (though he was actually a son of Hermes named Chris Rodriguez) and I exchanged a confused glance before turning to face whatever was coming.

I nocked an arrow and aimed to the general area the noise was coming from. My heart pounded in my chest, blood roared in my ears and then out of the darkness we finally saw what was coming.

It was, in fact, not a wild animal or monster, it was a group of Ares kids. Just as bad. The five of them had created a wall of spears and swords, knocking away our defenses as far as I could tell. I mean, it would explain how they got past our team, unless the whole of our team was all on the other side for some reason or another.

Clarisse was in the very middle, with her electric spear. She had a wicked mean grin on her face.

Gods, this was going to suck. I wasn't even sure if only two of us could defend the flag unless backup came. In any case, we had to try.

I shot my arrows at their hands, trying to knock their weapons out of their hands. It was harder because they had shields, but Chris distracted them long enough for me to hit my target. I managed to get three of them, before Clarisse's other sibling, Abby, I suddenly recalled, charged at me. I could only hope Chris would be able to hold his own with the three while I dealt with Clarisse and Abby.

Abby came at me first, because she was the closest, while Clarisse ran around us toward the flag. I thought about chasing her but couldn't because there was no doubt as soon as I turned my back I'd be hurt or knocked unconscious.

I ducked and rolled out of the way as Abby slashed her sword at me. I managed to notch an arrow before she swung at me again, narrowly avoiding being sliced in half. I raised my bow as soon as her sword had gone past me and shot my arrow at her (making sure to aim for her armor). She tried to raise her shield to block it but she was just shy of it, diverting its path with the edge of the shield. It made a _ding_ sound as it hit her helm before ricocheting off the helmet and landing next to her foot.

I hadn't built up the courage to aim for anything exposed. I didn't want to hurt anyone else, even if they didn't grant me the same courtesy. It just didn't feel right. After all it was just a game—a game they took _way_ too seriously. I only participated because it was good battle practice and I didn't want to blamed for losing the game.

Abby swung at me again, not even fazed by my arrow, and I ducked, letting out a frustrated growl. I need to go after Clarisse or she'd get the flag! I wasn't sure what I was thinking, but I had to get away from this girl, so as I stood up I took my bow and smacked her right across the face. This stunned her long enough for me to disarm her before tripping her up to make sure I had time to run after Clarisse.

Though we couldn't be within a ten yard radius of our flag, I only had a run a little bit to see it. It and Clarisse starting to pick it out of the ground. I had no idea where Chris had one off to. Or where the other Ares campers were. I couldn't exactly worry about them right now.

I swiftly nocked an arrow and shot right between the gap of her hand and the flag's pole. Right after I let my arrow go I ran up to her and got within hitting distance of her just as she spun around eyes wide. I tried to hit her across the head with my bow like I did with Abby but she ducked out of the way.

She jabbed at me with her electric spear as she came out of her role and I jumped back, next to the flag. I needed something to fight back with. Bow and arrows could only go so far. They weren't very good for close-range things.

I glanced back and forth between Clarisse, who was advancing, and the flag. The flag! I hadn't thought to grab another weapon other than my bow and a quiver of arrows (stupidly, I admit) so this would have to do. I wasn't sure if it was against the rules, but it wasn't like I was trying to move the flag. I was keeping it in the vicinity of our designated area.

Dodging another jab, I grabbed the flag out of the ground and spun it around, trying to hit Clarisse with the pole. She easily blocked my attack with her shield before jabbing at me again. I deflected with the flag. I was about to try another hit when Abby showed up, looking really pissed. Clarisse saw this small moment of distraction and instead of grabbing the flag out of my hands she thrust her spear at me.

I barely had time to think about what I was going to do. The pole was too heavy to move quick enough to deflect her attack and there was no way I was going to be able to use my bow and arrow.

So, I did the sensible thing, I dropped the flag and caught the shaft of the spear just below the tip before she could strike me.

Either way, it had the same effect as if she'd hit me (in retrospect, I probably wouldn't have been so badly wounded if I'd just let her hit my breastplate). Electricity shot through me, stealing my breath and making my body tingle caustically. I let out a strangled cry that cut off. My knees buckled, but I couldn't let go of her spear. I was trying, trust me, I was _trying_, but my fingers wouldn't unfurl. My hands seemed stick to the shaft and electricity just kept zipping through me.

Honestly, I was surprised I'd even survived that, considering that would've probably killed a normal human being. But, then again, I wasn't exactly normal. Still, my body functioned in a way that non-demigods' bodies did, for all intents and purposes. It should've stopped my heart.

Instead, I blacked out. Finally.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the infirmary. My whole body felt sore, like I'd just done the Ironman triathlon three times consecutively. My ears buzzed and I felt too warm, like I'd developed a fever. Probably due to ingesting too much nectar and ambrosia, I decided.

My vision swam. I blinked hard to clear it.

"You're awake!" someone exclaimed from beside me. My eyes flickered over to my left to see who it was. I wanted to smile but that hurt too.

"Luke," I croaked. He looked relieved to see me finally awake. My eyebrows furrowed. "How long?"

Luke's own eyebrows furrowed. "Almost a week."

"Huh."

Someone else cleared their throat. It was rough and impatient-sounding. I tried to lift my head but found I couldn't hold it up for very long, so I struggled to get into a sitting position. Luke started to protest, but I glared at him. My body protested, too, but I ignored it and managed to sit up. I was panting with one arm wrapped around my middle, my other hand grasping Luke's, who'd also put a hand on my shoulder, but I had sat up.

That's when I realized I had an audience. I wanted to say the whole camp was there, at the end of my bed, crowing around it, making a wide semi-circle, but that might've been exaggerating. It _felt_ like the whole camp had come.

I looked around at all of them.

"…what's going on?" I asked slowly.

"Chiron said I should apologize," Clarisse mumbled, pouting, her arms crossed. Her eyebrows were smashed together and she was glaring me. She was standing right at the end of the bed. "So I'm sorry." She paused. "But, honestly, I don't see why I have to do this." She flung her arms out and shifted her weight to her other foot. "You're the one stupid enough to grab the spear."

"Clarisse," Chiron scolded, who I then suddenly noticed. He was standing off to the side of the crescent-shaped group of campers. I'm not sure how I'd missed him, he was still in centaur form.

"It's fine," I sighed, sagging a little, my energy gone already. "She's right. It was stupid of me to grab the spear." There was a pause. "So why is everyone else here?" I demanded, looking at all of them again. Well, I was glaring now. I'd become some sort of spectacle and it was making me uncomfortable. I just wanted to go back to sleep without a bunch of eyes watching me.

Someone from the crowd spoke up. "Clarisse, apologizing? Had to see it for myself." I couldn't tell who it was because the group was so large. The group murmured assent.

"Well, she did so you can all leave now." I muttered. I was surprised Chiron hadn't ushered them as soon as they started gathering.

"What was it like?" another camper from the crowd called out.

"What was _what_ like," I half-growled as Chiron said, "All right, there's nothing more to see. Why don't we let Tori rest—"

"Holding onto an electric spear," the same camper interrupted Chiron, who opened his mouth about to scold the group but I met his eyes and stopped him.

I turned back to the crowd and, keeping a completely straight face, I answered, "Shocking."

The group stared back at me, blinking. Silence spread through the infirmary. I think they were trying to decide on whether they should laugh or groan. Even Clarisse looked stunned at my comment.

"Oh my gods," someone murmured with barely contained laughter in their voice, finally breaking the silence. No laughter followed, but I think they were still trying to decide if they should or not.

I did an awkward, sore bow and gave them a sarcastic smile.

I said, my voice just as sarcastic as my smile, "I'll be here all week." I let that sink in. "For now, show's over. Please leave." Without waiting for an answer, I flopped back down on my cot and turned over onto my left so I wouldn't have to look at them (which my body didn't like one bit).

Luke was sitting on the edge of the cot across from mine. I didn't mind having to see him. His blue eyes sparkled with amusement and his lips were pulled up in a smile. He was also shaking his head. Those blue eyes rolled and I winked at him as I heard Chiron shuffling the crowd back outside.

I would later find out that I'd earned a grudging respect from the Ares cabin. I thought for sure they'd turn me into a laughing stock, the most moronic of the morons, for grabbing an electric spear. Instead, they sort of came to like me…? I mean, it could've been because I'd been "brave" enough to grab an electric spear. It could've been because I hadn't been claimed yet and they maybe thought I could be a daughter of Ares. But as I said earlier anyone who wasn't paying attention wouldn't know I was definitely a daughter of Apollo. A lot of the campers paid pretty good attention, which included the Ares campers.

Whatever the reason, I didn't question it. I used it to my advantage. I hadn't known at the time that I'd want to train in hand-to-hand, but when the idea popped into my head I discussed it with the Ares kids before one of our wrestling classes and they'd agreed.

It would be the Athena cabin that labelled me as an idiot for doing what I did. Which made sense. I learned that fact from Annabeth, because she's the one who had trained and still was training me to fight with a knife. (I took sword lessons from Luke, obviously, and spear lessons from Clarisse.) It wasn't, however, their style to announce it to the whole world that I was an idiot.

Anyway, that's how the week passed. I was becoming more and more annoyed with everything in general and Percy was getting special attention. I couldn't wait until the summer ended and a majority of the campers went off to go to school or whatever they did if they weren't year-rounders. The camp would be quieter and so would the Hermes cabin.

Honestly, I'm not usually such a negative Nellie, but the circumstances under which Percy came to camp stirred up a lot of unwanted memories. Thinking about them too much was making me angry. So I suppose I wasn't actually angry at anything here—Camp Half-Blood had become my home, the half-bloods who resided in it had become a family (negating the fact that they were, technically, my actual family)—I was really only angry with myself. And Apollo.

I _was_ excited for this week's capture the flag game. I just wish I'd known that it was only going to make things worse.

* * *

><p><strong>So, third chapter. Still kind of filler, but things will, hopefully start picking up after this next chapter because the capture the flag game leads to Percy's quest.<strong>

**Also, I really would like to take the time to introduce you guys to an old character I've made new. Her past is different, her relationship with Luke is different, and I want to be able to show it, just not all at once.**

**I think I'll start a posting schedule with how things are going right now: a new chapter on Wednesdays and Sundays. Again, if I miss a day, feel free to check out my profile page to see what's up and why I'm late posting.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	4. Four

**Some dialogue from the book, so bear with me. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Turn for the Worst<p>

It was a long rest of the week as I tried not to be angry with myself and tried to avoid Percy as much as possible. I'm not sure why I'd taken such a disliking to him. I suppose it was half because of the being angry at myself and half because he was surrounded by _drama_. Maybe not personally and/or directly, but there were plenty of rumors going around about him.

I hated drama.

As it was, before the capture the flag game, the Hermes cabin had a sword lesson with Luke as the teacher—no surprise there.

We started with drills on practice dummies, something I didn't like as much as dueling an actual person. But I followed along, warmed-up.

When we finally got to dueling, I was kind of annoyed that Luke would be pairing with Percy, but he was the newbie, and Luke and I had our one-on-one sessions already, so I really shouldn't have been. I was paired up with Chris (the guy who I had helped protect the flag with that fateful night I was electrocuted).

"Good luck," I told Percy when Luke had announced the partners. He was standing next to me. I wouldn't have talked to him otherwise. "Luke's the best swordsman since the last three hundred years."

I saw Percy swallow before he spoke, "Maybe he'll go easy on me." His voice wasn't at all confident in that statement.

I snorted before going over to Chris. He was waiting for me. It was pretty fun. Chris was a decent swordsman. I'd worked up a good sweat by the end, but I wasn't sure if it was more due to the dueling or because I wore almost-long-sleeved shirts in this heat. Probably both, honestly.

We took a quick water break and I went over to talk to Luke.

"How's Percy doing?" I asked, taking a sip of water. Luke had just finished pouring his water over his head.

"Needs a lot work," Luke chuckled, "but okay for his first week here. And with an unbalanced sword. Is Chris enough of challenge for you?"

I nonchalantly shrugged. "He's okay."

Luke glared at me playfully with a smile and I couldn't help but smile back.

Luke turned back to the class. "Okay, everybody circle up!" He called. "If Percy doesn't mind, I'd like to give you a little demo."

I gathered around where the other campers were gathering to watch.

"This is difficult," he started, looking around at everyone seriously, for they were trying to hide their smiles and suppress their giggles in coughs. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique." He then proceeded to demonstrate the move in slow motion. Percy's sword hit the floor.

"Now in real time," Luke ordered as Percy picked up his sword and got ready. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"

They began and surprisingly enough, Percy was doing a pretty good job holding his own. But as I watched I saw him get nervous as Luke pressed harder on him. Then, without notice, Percy tried to the move and it worked. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Everyone around was stunned into silence the only noise, Luke's sword clattering on the ground.

He actually did it. Now he was standing with his sword an inch away from Luke's unprotected chest.

He said the last thing I would've thought someone would say: "Um, sorry." He lowered his sword. I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry?" Luke asked incredulous, but happily surprised. A grin appeared on his face. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!" He encouraged picking up his sword.

Percy looked reluctant but Luke was persistent and they soon began another duel. It didn't last very long though, because as soon as their swords met, Luke performed the trick, quite nicely, and Percy's sword went skidding across the floor.

There was another pause as the arena fell silent once more.

"Beginner's luck?" I suggested for the sake of breaking the silence.

Luke relaxed and wiped the sweat off his forehead, appraising Percy carefully. "Maybe," he started skepticism clear in his voice. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword…."

The class ended soon after.

After that, it was some training on the climbing wall and then to the canoe lake to take a breather, maybe practice my guitar.

The one I owned currently had been my mom's (she played three instruments, guitar, violin and flute, but she was much better at the guitar). Having it was a bittersweet cocktail of emotions, because it brought about a lot of bad memories, but also good ones.

Most of them was her playing for me (and my brother): my favorite songs at the time or songs she'd composed herself. She taught me how to play at a very young age. (Dan liked the violin better.) Reading music came surprisingly easy to me and I really grew to love the sound of the guitar.

My mom also had a beautiful singing voice. She'd sing me to sleep if I was having a rough night or right after I'd woken from a nightmare. I requested her to sing completely a Capella a lot as I grew up, because I loved it when I heard the pitch in her voice change ever so slightly when she smiled. (The guitar drowned out the subtle change most of the time.) It was the most beautiful thing to hear and it always made me want to smile.

Her smile and singing could light up the night sky. At the very least, she knew just what to sing to make me feel better, whether I was angry, sad, anxious or just plain upset. I don't know if Dan would ever admit it, but I had a feeling he'd agree.

Living in the Hermes cabin you'd think owning a guitar would be hard. And it was for the first few weeks at camp. I was afraid that someone in there would steal it or enchant it or damage it some way. When it happened for the first time—got stolen, I mean—I brought fire and brimstone down on the culprit.

It was really a blur, what happened, I can't even really remember what I'd done. I do remember having to help the harpies clean the dishes that night, but I'd gotten my guitar back in one piece, no enchantments, no damage. That was the only time I was grateful for how fast word-of-mouth worked at camp, because afterward and to this day, no one has dared go near my guitar, let alone touch it. Weathered campers made sure to inform new campers of my capabilities if they messed with my guitar.

I ended up deciding not to bring my guitar with me, in the end, though. I felt I was taking a risk, bringing it out into the middle of the lake today, and if I damaged it, I'd have no one to blame but myself.

I decided to just sit out in the middle of the lake and listen to the buzz of camp. I didn't have to hear whispering voices or rumors. I could just close my eyes and listen to the breeze as it rustled the leaves and blew the scent of strawberries toward me, the sound of the waves of the lake lapping against the shore. I could soak up the sun and its warmth.

Someone else's canoe bumping into mine brought me back down to earth. I opened my eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the sun. It took me a moment to finally see Luke, sitting in another canoe he'd pulled up alongside mine. He was sitting so that he could face me.

I smiled and said, "Hey."

He smiled back. "How's it going?" he asked.

I shrugged and looked around, letting out a deep sigh. "I'm just… thinking."

"About?"

I looked back at him. "Percy." I muttered.

Luke blinked. "Why?"

"No one will shut up about him." I grumbled, causing Luke to smile. I paused before talking louder and a little faster this time, getting animated. "Besides, they're all over there giving him special attention, trying to figure out who is godly parent is. And I'm over here, knowing full well who my godly parent is, but I have to abide by camp rules and stay in the Hermes cabin. No one will talk about it. They all know. But no one will talk about it. Percy is getting more talked about than when Dan was claimed and I wasn't."

Luke feigned hurt. "You don't like it in the Hermes cabin?"

I shoved him playfully, rocking his canoe. He had to grab mine to keep from floating away from me, or falling into the water.

"So you're just jealous that he's getting all the attention," Luke said after bringing our canoes back together.

My face flushed. "No!" I exclaimed. "Why would I be jealous of a twelve-year-old kid who doesn't even really know how to handle a sword right?"

A big gust of wind picked up, carrying Luke's laughter toward me, rippling the water's surface and blowing my hair every-which way.

I glared at him through narrowed eyes about ready to push him into the water when he surprised me by leaning closer to me and brushing the loose hair behind my ear. Where his fingers touched tingled. He was still stifling chuckles and grinning, but he'd stopped laughing so loud.

"Or is it because _I'm_ giving him more attention?" he asked in a low voice, leaning even closer to me.

I felt my face turn hot. I bit my lip and averted my eyes. I felt like I should deny this, but the words got caught in my throat.

My averted gaze lasted about a second because Luke reached up again, only this time he caressed my face. My eyes went back to him as my heart skipped a beat before pounding double-time. His eyes were gazing at me with such intensity, swirling with a strong emotion I couldn't decipher, almost like the ice had melted.

Then he started leaning forward. I was panicking, not sure what to do. I wanted to pull away and run in the other direction, but we were in the middle of a lake. He kept getting closer and I had to close my eyes or become cross-eyed he came so close. I felt his breath on my lips.

One moment I was sitting in a canoe, in the middle of the lake, about to kiss my best friend. The next moment there's a sound of something splashing in the water and my canoe is tipping dangerously to the side, taking me with it. Before I know it, I get a shock of cold as I plunge into the lake with a gasp. When I burst from the surface, gasping because it was such a surprise, and blinking water out of my eyes I see my canoe rocking back and forth, floating away from Luke's.

Leaning precariously on her elbows on the side of Luke's canoe is a naiad. It took me a moment to figure out she'd popped up between our canoes, knocking me backward and into the lake. That was what the splashing noise had been. When I did put this together, I glared at her, but her back was to me as she started to talk to Luke, who was smiling politely at her, but looking uncomfortable.

I'd missed any and all classes on how to be a girl, but I was pretty sure that pretty naiad was flirting with him.

I thought about splashing her but she was a naiad and could probably splash me right back, in the face. I didn't want to get into a water fight with a naiad, I'd lose.

Instead, I swam over to my canoe, glaring at nothing in particular and started pushing it back toward shore, not bothering to get back in. I was already soaking wet from head to foot.

I glanced over my shoulder briefly to see the naiad still flirting with Luke, who looked like he wanted to call me back but couldn't get the words to leave his throat, that or he didn't want to be rude to the naiad. I was able to see the naiad's face, too, and I when I switched my gaze to her she smiled at me devilishly and winked. My mouth dropped and I turned back around, pushing my canoe indignantly.

I fought against another urge to splash her as I pushed my canoe ashore before trudging onto the sand myself. Just my luck, Percy was there. He was staring me but I couldn't decipher the look on his face or the emotion in his sea-green eyes. I wondered how long he'd been there. Did he see the almost-kiss or just the part where I went tumbling into the lake?

"What?" I snapped. He blushed and quickly looked away.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

I continued to march away from the lake, hands balled into fists, no doubt a very peeved expression on my face.

* * *

><p>Friday rolled around. I avoided the canoe lake. Campers were getting excited for the capture the flag game tonight. Luke had told me in advanced that I was going to be with him and a few others, helping get the flag. I admit, it was kind of gratifying to hear that Percy was going to be used as the main distraction, considering Clarisse's grudge.<p>

It's what had happened when I was going off to my masters' archery class, what the screams had been all about. Apparently, Percy had somehow drenched the whole girl's restroom in water, including its occupants at the time, except for himself. Those occupants included Clarisse and a couple of her siblings (and Annabeth). It was smart of Annabeth to use their anger against them.

Dinner was the usual, crowded, noisy occasion. I sat next to Luke who sat next to Percy again. This time, he was explaining how capture the flag worked as campers cheered and Annabeth and Clarisse ran into the pavilion with their respective flags.

Chiron pounded his hoof against the floor to grab the campers' attention.

"Heroes!" he started. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest if fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as a referee and battle field medic. Arm yourselves!"

With a wave of Chiron's hands all the equipment needed was spread out across the tables in front of us, as well as my weapons.

I grabbed my sword already in its scabbard (I'd learned from my encounter with Clarisse's electric spear), my bow and a quiver of arrows. I decided to go shield-less tonight, so my last thing to grab was a helmet with a blue horsehair plume, the color of Athena's team. The Ares had red.

Annabeth raised her sword. "Blue team, forward!" she ordered.

Everyone cheered and we started our way toward the south part of the woods. I made sure to stay with Luke. The red team shouted taunts at us as they headed to the north side.

Luke stopped a few yards from the boundary line, waiting for someone. It didn't take long for that someone to show up. It was Annabeth, along with a few other Hermes and Apollo campers.

"Ready?" she asked him just as the conch horn sounded in the distance.

Luke smiled and nodded. "Ready." he confirmed. "Let's go capture a flag, hm?"

Annabeth returned his smile and put on her invisibility cap, disappearing. Luke then turned toward the small team he had.

He instructed the Apollo campers and me to forge ahead, going a few minutes apart so as to not raise suspicion. Percy, was, after all, standing right at the border.

I leaped easily across the river and into enemy territory, along with the other Apollo campers. We had our bows drawn, on the lookout for any resistance. There wasn't much at first, but as I scouted further, Ares campers popped up. Which was a good sign—that meant the flag was close. Just because the rules said only two people could stand guard for the flag, didn't mean that they couldn't put a bunch of protection spanning around the flag. And it looked like that was exactly what the Ares cabin had decided to do.

Even better was the fact that we had long-range weapons. So we could hide behind trees and disarm them.

There were two campers at first and I took care of one, easily disarming him, as another Apollo kid disarmed the other. A third Apollo camper shot a stink arrow at both of them. We ran past as the two Ares kids gagged.

Luke and the rest of the group caught up to us just as the protection grew thicker.

But because there were at least five or six Ares campers already beating up Percy, that left the rest of the Ares cabin, minus the two we'd taken out, the four from the Hephaestus cabin, and the two from the Dionysus cabin. Though they were a good defense, there weren't a lot of them and it was fairly easy to overwhelm them with so many campers from the Hermes, Athena, and Apollo cabins.

Both the kids from the Dionysus cabin were locked in battle with two Athena campers. The Apollo and Hermes campers spread out and took on the remaining offensive to allow Luke to slip through their lines and grab the flag.

I engaged with one of the Ares kids, making sure to stay a good distance away. Close enough that she saw me, far enough away that I was able to use my bow and arrow. I did have a sword if needed, but right now the strategy I figured out worked.

See, I learned, when fighting someone with a shield, it's harder to disarm them when they can easily block your arrows (obviously). That's why you create a distraction and then aim for their weapon-hand.

I shot an arrow too low for her to move her shield, landing right between her feet.

"Missed me!" she sneered as I shot another arrow at her unprotected hand. She realized what I'd done but it was too late, the arrow connected with her hand and with a yelp she dropped her sword.

"Wasn't aiming for you." I called back, lowering my bow and smirking at her. She swiped up her sword and was about to charge me when I saw Luke sprint past her with their flag in hand. I quickly shot another arrow past her, between her and Luke because she'd tried to lunge at him.

"Hermes, fall back!" I shouted, launching another arrow at the Ares kid before sprinting after Luke. As I ran, I noticed the Hephaestus kids pushing the Apollo kids harder, keeping up with Luke. But it didn't matter, all that much, because all the Apollo kids had to do was hold them off until Luke got past the river. A few yards away, another Hermes camper joined me in flanking Luke. There were already excited shouts from our team as Luke dashed through the underbrush, around trees and finally flew over the river onto our side.

As soon as his feet landed, with everyone having congregated at the river, our team broke out into cheers of triumph. They started lifting Luke onto their shoulders as he displayed the flag that had now shimmered and turned silver, adorned with a caduceus, and grinned.

The moment was shattered by a howl that ripped through the cheers and the forest. My blood turned to ice and my stomach dropped.

No, not here.

Not again.

My ears filled with echoes of the woman's screams. I could barely hear anything else.

Heart pounding against my chest painfully, I frantically searched for the beast I knew all too well. I found it on a large rock outcropping. It was about as large as the first one I saw. Much larger than the second I encountered here, in these very same woods, when I first arrived at camp.

I followed its lava red eyes to Percy. I only vaguely thought this was strange. I looked back at the hound, it had its lips pulled back in a snarl.

I gritted my teeth and tried to concentrate, focus on breathing. The screams were getting louder, my vision was becoming hazy, un-focusing and refocusing on a horrible, bloody scene.

I blinked hard, forcing my mind to _focus_!

I looked back at the hound just as it leaped from its rock. Silent like a shadow but arguably deadlier than a cobra.

Despite the screams, despite the flashbacks, I pulled three arrows from my quiver and notched them. I wasn't a little thirteen-year-old anymore. I'd been training, I'd grown up. I was going to take this beast down. Or at least help.

As soon as the monster made contact with Percy, its claws easily sliced through his breastplate. The dark night made his blood look nearly black.

I let my arrows go around the same time others did. All three struck it right in the neck alongside about 30 or 40 others. The hellhound froze in what it was doing before falling over and shrinking into the shadows. I watched with disdain before turning and making my way out of the forest, sliding past enraptured campers, through underbrush, past trees.

I'd tuned out what they were saying, but Chiron's voice was hard ignore when it rang through the forest. I froze, the breath leaving me.

"It is determined," he announced. "Poseidon, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

I gripped my bow, swallowed hard and continued out of the forest. I put my things away before going to the beach. I didn't want to hear about what had just happened, because no doubt that's all anyone would be able to talk about until lights out. And until then, I wasn't going to set foot in the cabin.

* * *

><p><strong>All right, fourth chapter down, on time. And it's even longer than the first two. This is going rather smoothly—knock on wood. Sorry they're kind of… blah. At least, I feel like they might be. I don't know about whoever's reading this. As always, though, I hope you enjoyed!<strong>

**Exciting news, I finally started HOO. I'm almost finished with Son of Neptune. It's so weird to not read from Percy's POV and not have him be a younger kid anymore.**

**See you in a few days with a new chapter.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	5. Five

Can't Escape this Now

I sat down in the sand—well more liked plopped down—and brought my legs up so I could rest my elbows on my knees. I glared out at the ocean. High tide was coming in. The water lapped up to my shoes, going underneath, stopping at about where the arch was in my foot. I reached out with one of my hands and let the water wash over my fingers, before it pulled back out toward the ocean.

Percy. Son of the sea god. Son of Poseidon. The Big Three.

I let out a snort. Of course that silly gossip would turn out to be true. That poor twelve-year-old kid, thrust into a dangerous world made even more dangerous because of who his father was. At least he didn't have to worry about being ignored. As far as I could tell, he was Poseidon's only half-human son, so Poseidon really had no reason _to_ ignore Percy.

Someone's hand came down on my left shoulder. My left hand shot up and grabbed the person's wrist in a tight grip as I spun and stood up, my other hand coming up to grab my the person's neck. It was a bad habit I needed to break. It was one of the moves I'd learned from a year-rounder from the Ares cabin during our hand-to-hand combat training.

I learned when and how to use the moves the Ares kids taught me to their utmost usefulness from the Athena kids. They still thought I was an idiot for grabbing Clarisse's electric spear but agreed to help me with the moves.

My attacker's own hand came up to grab the wrist to the hand that was holding his neck, but lightly, not in a menacing way.

It took me a long moment to register who was standing in front of me. Who I was currently holding in such a way that cut off his airways. Despite this fact, he showed no discomfort. His blue eyes met mine solemnly, waiting, trusting.

I quickly let go of both his wrist and neck, taking a step back. The water lapped up against my shoes again. Luke's chest expanded as if he was taking in a deep breath.

"You okay?" he finally asked.

"I'll be all right," I mumbled, sitting back down in the sand. I stretched one leg out, keeping my other one closer to my chest so I still had a resting place for my arms.

"You sure?" Luke asked, sitting down on my left. I could feel his eyes on my face. I continued to stare out at the ocean.

I let out a heavy, shaky, weary sigh. I couldn't think of an answer to that. I wanted to lie but when I thought about answering, the truth rested on my lips.

Luke reached over to rub my shoulder. I flinched before I remembered that he already knew. I had nothing to hide from him.

He continued this for a few moments as I watched the waves come and go. His hand then moved to brush my hair behind my ear and over my shoulder, kind of like he'd done earlier this week. His fingers also brushed my neck, this time, and a shiver ran down my spine. My stomach knotted and I swallowed hard. I reached out to let the waves wash over one of my hand again. The coolness of the water was nice on my heated skin.

I actually had solid ground to run away on this time, if he tried to kiss me.

"Come here," he murmured, putting his arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I shifted a bit and rested my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes and focusing on the sound of the ocean. It was a very calming noise.

We sat there for as long as we could. When curfew struck, Luke coaxed me back to the Hermes cabin. Campers were getting ready for lights out. I weaved my way to my bunk and slid onto my mattress. I gave Luke a small smile before turning over onto my side to face the wall that the bunk was pushed up against.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to fall asleep, but I waited for the lights to go out and as soon as I closed my eyes I was out just as fast as the lights.

I had dreams. I shouldn't have been surprised. They weren't like demigod dreams, they held no special meaning, they didn't show me events from the past, and they didn't show me what some other demigod was up to that was tied to my Fate, or some god trying to get into contact with me. They were nightmares brought about by the hellhound that appeared in the woods today.

They were dizzying, leave-you-breathless kind of nightmares.

Coal black, the color of the fur of the hellhounds from the Underworld. That's how they always started out, coal black covered my vision. Unintelligible screams began soon after that grew louder and closer. I was able to make out what the woman was crying out when there was a spatter of blood red over the coal black.

"_Help! Help me, please! Apollo!_"

Searing pain ripped through my left shoulder and down my arm, stopping at my elbow.

I jerked awake, my hand flying up to clamp over my mouth. His name echoed through my mind.

_Apollo. Apollo. Apollo._

I realized that the hand clamped over my mouth was shaking, that I was trembling. I carefully pulled my hand away and gripped the sheets with it, releasing my breath slowly, making a sound that sounded close to a hiss.

I took slow, deep breaths and squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth.

I'd learned to put a hand over my mouth when I woke up from nightmares because the Hermes cabin had been getting tired of waking up to the sound of my screams. I'd found that putting my hand over my mouth was usually able to keep me from screaming long enough to gather my bearings and swallow my screams all together.

Movement in front of me caught my eye and I focused in on what my eyes were staring at. I'd turned over onto my other side. I was facing Luke, whose bunk was across from mine, against the opposite wall. He was awake, too. I figured he'd waved or something to get my attention.

Moonlight shone through the window between our beds, lighting up his face. His blue eyes looked bluer, his blond hair looked almost silver. Luke gazed at me solemnly.

He mouthed, "Can't sleep?"

I grimaced and shook my head. We had a lot of these late-night conversations. It was a common occurrence that we both couldn't sleep.

"You?" I mouthed back.

"Dreams," he answered. He looked at me for a moment before shifting on his bed, so that he was lying on his side, making room for another person on his bed. He put his hand down on the empty spot he'd just made before reaching his hand out toward me. I sat up slightly and looked around the cabin. It was quiet, filled with the deep, slow breath of the campers sleeping. It didn't _look_ like anyone was awake.

Slowly, making sure to keep quiet, I slid off my bed. I had to step between several campers lying on the floor between our beds, but I'd done this enough times that it didn't take long and I didn't wake anyone up in the process.

I slid onto Luke's mattress and he put one arm around me and used his free hand to brush my hair back, out of my face. I buried my head in the crook of his neck and gripped the front of his t-shirt with one hand like a lifeline. My other hand was fisted and pressed against my mouth, to keep me from crying and/or hyperventilating.

I was still trembling.

His hand continued to comb through my hair gently, soothingly. Soon he simply knotted his hand in my hair and massaged my scalp. I closed my eyes, my breath hissing in and out through my teeth.

Luke pulled me slightly closer. His one hand in my hair had stopped massaging, but his other hand was now gently tracing the scars on my shoulder and arm. It reminded me of the first time anyone had learned about my scars, without my permission. Of course, it had been Luke. This had been way before he quest, way before he'd gotten his own scar.

I had stitches that needed to be removed, but Chiron didn't want me to risk going out of camp's borders to a hospital to have the procedure done. Not after what had happened to my mother. I agreed with him, but because I didn't want to go back into the hospital more so than the fact that it would be dangerous.

So, he had one of the Apollo campers remove them for me. Obviously a girl, since I had to strip down to just my bra for anyone to be able to remove the stitches. Her name was Mia and she seemed really freaked about removing my stitches. Rightfully so, she'd told me herself she'd never done it before.

Mia was much older than me, eighteen at the time, and a weathered camper too. So she'd had a lot of practice with healing and such, just not removing stitches. Either Chiron taught her before she removed mine, or she asked Apollo for help. Whichever way she learned, she'd done a fine job.

We didn't talk much because I was afraid the why and how I got these scars was going to pop up. I didn't feel like talking about it or explaining. It was too fresh in my mind and much too personal to be telling someone I'd just met.

This had been done in the infirmary. Afterward, I thanked Mia before heading back to the Hermes cabin. It was the middle of the year, so there were only year-rounders and the camp was practically deserted. The Hermes cabin was completely empty for a change when I arrived back.

I went instantly to the bathroom and took off my shirt and camisole again. I don't know why I did, why I wanted to look at my scars that would remind me of such horrible things…. But I needed to see them. They were a part of me now. A part of my past, something that would always be with me. I guess, maybe I felt that looking at them would help me heal.

I turned, so my back was facing the mirror and looked over my shoulder at them through the mirror. Because they were pretty fresh, they were still very pronounced against my skin. I reached up with my right hand to run my fingers across the jagged, raised lines across my left shoulder and upper forearm.

It felt so odd. I poked and prodded at my scars. Where they were thickest felt strangely numb, but not. They tingled unusually. A sensation almost like pain blossomed where I poked, but at the same time, like I said, it had a numbness to it.

I sighed and turned back around to face the mirror. Enough looking at my scars. I didn't feel any different emotionally and suddenly felt stupid for even wanting to look at them in the first place. Also, my neck had been getting tired.

I reached for my camisole and started to slip it back on—I had my arms through it and was about to pull it over my head—when the door abruptly opened.

I was confused at first, not quite comprehending what'd happened, as I lowered my arms and lifted my head. It took me a few seconds to react, long enough to see Luke's eyes widen in surprise and then flicker down to my shoulder. I gasped and quickly spun around.

"Get out!" I yelled, grabbing the door handle and slamming the door closed in his face.

"I'm sorry!" he called through the door. "I didn't mean to—I mean, I should've knocked. I just didn't think—"

"No, you didn't." I interrupted him, keeping a firm grip on the door knob and leaning against the door for good measure.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"Just go away," I replied.

It wasn't so much that I was embarrassed that a guy saw me in my bra, it was my scars. I didn't want anyone else knowing. I didn't want to have to explain what happened. Mia, Chiron and Dan were different. Mia because she'd sworn on the River Styx not to tell a single soul. Chiron because he's the one who'd talked to me and my brother about camp; he'd been there when I'd woken up. Dan for obvious reasons.

It was too horrifying to think about, that another person knew.

I waited until I heard his retreating footsteps and another door slam closed before I pulled away from the door. I could feel tears threaten to spill from my eyes, but I took a deep breath and held them back. I quickly dressed and exited the bathroom. I didn't want to stay in here, in fear that Luke would come back, so I grabbed a bow, a quiver and arrows, and went down to the archery range.

After that I pretty much avoided Luke as much as possible. It was kind of hard, considering there weren't a lot of half-bloods at camp during this time of year and we were in the same cabin. This was also after the incident in the woods, where I'd almost died, so we had started becoming friend. For about a month, I didn't talk to him, look at him, go near him, and just hoped he wouldn't question me about my scars.

And he never did. From what I could tell, he never told anyone else either. Not even Annabeth.

Finally, I worked up the courage to approach him again. He didn't seem upset that I'd avoided him for so long. Still, we were both walking on eggshells for about another month.

As we grew even closer, Luke became more and more nervous when he was around me, like he wanted to bring up my scars but was waiting for me to first. He tried to act normal, but I could see it just sitting there, in the back of his mind, lying in wait.

I couldn't stand it anymore. It was after dinner, as people were heading down to the bonfire. I touched Luke's arm before he could get up and leave and asked him if I could talk to him. We headed to the Hermes cabin and sat down in his spot on the floor, pressing our backs up against the wall. We kept the lights off and because it was winter, it was dark. There was a tiny bit of natural light coming through the windows, but I could only just barely see him. That was enough for me.

"That day you burst into the bathroom," I started.

"Yeah, listen, I'm _really_ sorry about that. Still." He started babbling nervously. "I should've knocked. I just wasn't thinking. Camp is so empty, you know, and I just… I don't know. I just—"

I grabbed his hand to cut him off. He looked at me nervously and swallowed hard. I gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"What did you see?" I asked quietly.

His eyes widened and he blushed, at least I think he did.

"Oh, nothing. I didn't see… anything. Honest. You slammed the door before—" He broke off and looked away, tapping his fingers against his knee.

I looked away too, dropping his hand and reaching up to feel those large, jacked bumps on my arm and shoulder. Luke didn't miss this.

He said, "Oh, that… well… I saw—yes, I saw… those." He paused and I was about to say something but he beat me to it. "But, you know, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. You always look so… sad, whenever you reach up like that. I don't want to make you sad. I don't want to make you relive whatever happened. But…" He took my hand again. "I want you to know I'm here for you."

"Thank you," I whispered. "And it's okay. I want to tell you."

And so I did.

It hadn't been easy. Even now, just thinking about it intensified my want to cry. It didn't help that there'd been a hellhound in camp tonight, or that I'd just had nightmares about what'd happened. I wanted to cry, but I didn't want to cry. Not right now, at least.

Instead, I breathed in Luke's familiar, comforting scent and tried to relax. I wanted to stop trembling. I wanted to get up and _move_, go down to the arena and gut some dummies. Then I remembered my conversation with Chiron.

I focused back on my breathing. When that wasn't working because it was shaking, I focused on Luke's even breathing. It grew steadier and deeper, his hand stopped tracing my scars.

I fell asleep soon after him.

He woke up before I did. The sun was just coming up, lighting up the cabin in a soft yellow-orange glow. The cabin would soon be awake, so would the camp. It was against camp rules for two campers to sleep together like we'd been doing. So every morning, before anyone else woke, I'd go back to my bunk.

I shifted a little to be able to look up at Luke. He ran his thumb over my cheek. I thought he was going to kiss me for a scary, heart-fluttering moment, but he kissed my forehead.

I managed a small smile before I slipped off his bed and carefully made my way back to my bed. I laid down and looked over at Luke on more time. We gazed at each other for a long moment before he turned over onto his other side, facing the wall. I did the same. I closed my eyes but didn't sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so a little more backstory. A cute little moment between the two love-birds, too. It's shorter, but I'm managing to stick to my schedule, so you won't have to wait too long for the next chapter.<strong>

**The title is a small chunk from a verse from the song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons.**

**Also, almost done with The Mark of Athena. Everything hurts and nothing is okay, right now.**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed!**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	6. Six

Words that You Whispered

It'd had almost been a month, and _still_ Percy was all the camp could talk about. Though, it was more negative now. I'm not quite sure why, but people started avoiding him after he'd been claimed. The Hermes cabin even refused to take sword fighting lessons with him, so Luke had started training him one-on-one. I wasn't sure what that was all about, but I only went along with it, because three's a crowd.

Rumors about a stolen item circulated more often too, with storm clouds gathering around camp. It never rained here, because of the magic border, but looking at the clouds, the storm, I had a feeling not even the border could protect us from them.

It made me wonder what exactly had been stolen.

The rumors got even worse when Percy was called to the Big House and was issued a quest. The first quest in two years. I didn't know what to think about that. And to someone who'd barely had time to train. And a son of one of the Big Three, no less.

I suppose, though, being the son of one of the Big Three did that to you. He was more powerful than a lot of other demigods. It made sense.

I didn't pay this much mind, either. I found it better if I just focused on my training. Besides, that was what I wanted to do. Focus on my training, get better at my swordsmanship, dagger skills and spear skills. I also, obviously, practiced my archery skills, to keep them tuned up and perfected. I didn't want to get out of practice.

I was doing a pretty good job at this until word leaked that Zeus and Poseidon were fighting because Zeus was accusing Poseidon of stealing his lightning bolt. Which was pretty serious. It also made even more sense that Percy was involved, being the son of Poseidon. I knew, from Chiron, that gods couldn't steal other gods' items of power, but demigods could.

I didn't think that Percy had been the one who'd stolen the master bolt, but now he was retrieving it to appease Zeus and not cause a war.

My only concern was what was taking him so long. I couldn't quite remember when they'd left, but from the word around camp, I knew he had until the summer solstice, which was getting closer and closer. Still no sign that Zeus and Poseidon were any less angry, or that Percy had found the bolt and returned it.

I started getting really worried at that point. Fights were breaking out between the cabins, and it wasn't just yelling. It usually started with yelling, but became heated and turned into fist fights. Sometimes, if available, the weapons would come out. Chiron had to break up tons of fights, because the cabins couldn't seem to take a breather for a moment. Just as soon as Chiron managed to split some campers apart, more campers somewhere else were starting another scuffle.

I couldn't do anything without the threat of getting into the middle of it all. Something I really didn't want to do. I felt the need to take a side, but at the same time, I felt it just wasn't worth it. I mean, with impending war, I probably should've been way more distressed, but I just couldn't find it in me anymore.

I'd been at camp for a long time. I'd gone through heartache with what happened to my mother, I'd gone through a traumatizing experience with a hellhound before I knew that gods and monsters existed, and I'd gone through anger, sadness, humiliation and hatred when Dan had been claimed and I hadn't. Unless a real war between the gods started, I didn't feel the need to take a side and/or get into the fights the others campers were getting into.

Because a lot of the activities became even more hazards than before, I hung out on the porch of the Big House more often and watched the strawberry fields.

Luke came to join me one day. He stood awfully close. I didn't fail to notice.

"Hey," he greeted, glancing over at me.

I sighed. "Hey," I replied, looking away from the strawberries for a moment to look at him.

"Not going to join in the fights?" he questioned, turning to face me more fully. He leaned against the railing.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, but a smile was pulling at the edge of my lips. "I could ask you the same thing, hot shot." I retorted, also turning, mimicking his stance. He glared at me playfully. My heart did a funny little thing, looking into his eyes. They seemed more crystal blue today.

A sly smile appeared on his face and I swallowed, feeling oddly nervous.

Without warning Luke stepped forward, taking my hand into his, his other arm coming around my waist and pulling me into him and dipping me slightly.

I squeaked and gasped, "Luke!" My eyes went from his hand holding mine to his arm around my waist before I looked back up at him. My breath caught. My face felt hot. I was hyperaware of where Luke's body came into contact with mine. My head reeled.

I tried to ask what he was doing, but before I could, he pushed me away—keeping hold of my hand—and spun me around in a little circle, like we were dancing, before pulling me back to him. Though, this time, his other hand come up to caress my face. His thumb stroked my cheek as he gazed into my eyes. His eyes were sparkling with amusement and love. Well, what I was pretty sure was love.

I didn't have a lot of time to contemplate this because he started leaning toward me. I was just as nervous as before. Half of me wanted to flee, but half of me wanted to stay. I wanted to kiss him.

The part of me that wanted to stay grew stronger and I found myself closing my eyes and pushing up on my tip-toes, to make things quicker. No fear of falling into the lake right before we kissed, this time.

Our lips brushed, but before anything else could happened, some called Luke's name.

The voice sounded familiar.

We pulled away and turned to look at where the voice had come from. Floating several feet across from us was Percy and Annabeth, though just their heads. I couldn't read Annabeth's expression, but Percy looked too stunned to talk. It could've been a trick of the light, but he looked like he was blushing too.

I stepped away from Luke, feeling my face turn hot.

"I think it's for you," I mumbled, awkwardly and slowly backing away from him. He looked slightly annoyed and disappointed that we'd been interrupted a second time. "I'll talk to you later." I quickly turned and walked off the porch, out of sight of the IM, not looking back and not giving him a chance to respond. As I walked away, I could hear Luke greeting Percy, Annabeth and Grover.

* * *

><p>As the days past, things at camp become more and more on edge. The three had been gone for a while now, and they had contacted the camp about five days ago. Worse, still, today left them one more day to retrieve the stolen item.<p>

Everyone was feeling it. Everyone was too tense to even fight each other anymore. That, or they were saving their strength for when the war did start.

Things tentatively continued at camp, but all the talk was about Percy (surprise, surprise)—whether he was would make it in time or not. Though, to be fair, I could barely focus, too. It wasn't looking so good for any of us.

The day of the summer solstice was upon us. War hadn't broken out and the weather seemed to have evened out. I wasn't sure what that meant, though. The expression, calm before the storm, ran through my head the morning I woke up.

I looked over at Luke, just as a habit, after I sat up. What I saw scared me. Luke was up already, but he was sitting with his back against the wall. He had his legs slightly pulled up toward his chest and was resting his arms on his knees. The top bunk was throwing a shadow across his face. From what I could see, he hadn't gotten any sleep and looked especially distressed. It was almost like he had a constant migraine that wouldn't go away.

At the same time, the way he was sitting, the shadow across his face, his glowing blue eyes glaring straight ahead, it was something out of the movies: a villain.

I'd only ever seen him this upset before, and that was after he'd come back from _his_ quest.

I wasn't sure what I was more worried about for the rest of the day, Luke or Percy.

I tried to ask Luke what was wrong, but he avoided me. Eventually, I gave up, figuring he'd tell me what was wrong in his own time. I trusted him enough to know that he'd tell me if/when he wanted me to know. As much as I was concerned for him, I knew I needed to give him his space, just like he'd given me after he saw my scars. So I did, and instead worried about whether or not Percy, Annabeth and Grover had succeeded.

The sun was setting and a war hadn't begun… yet. I was still waiting. But suddenly someone from the Athena cabin came running down.

"They're back! They're back!" he yelled before dashing off toward the hill. I squinted my eyes and looked closely. The first thing I saw was Thalia's pine tree and next to it appeared three figures. All the stress I'd been feeling lifted off my shoulders. They'd made it! They'd actually made it! They're the first since… well, since Luke.

Speaking of Luke…? Where was he? I looked around, but he was nowhere in sight.

I wanted to go look for him, but I didn't know where to start. Besides, the crowd that was running up from their activities was pushing and shoving me forward. I had to start jogging in the same direction in order to not get run over.

I'll admit I was kind of surprised to see everyone so eager to see them. I mean it's great they made it and didn't die, but not only an hour ago were they fighting and shouting at each other. It just seemed… odd. Then again, no war that could've possibly wiped out the human race, that was good.

As almost everyone from camp (Chiron, the naiads, the satyrs, the campers to name a few), went to meet the three heroes, they made their way down the hill and were immediately swallowed up by the crowd that was cheering and shouting with joy. I stayed a ways back, as the crowd started to move toward me again for the ceremonial burning of the burial shrouds, the laurel wreaths and the big feast.

It was pretty enjoyable, but this was overshadowed by my concern and worry for Luke. I still hadn't seen him, ever since the three's return, and it was starting to make me anxious.

After the big feast everyone went down to the bonfire. Probably the biggest bonfire I can remember since I first came here. It was the same songs and s'mores, but there wasn't going to be war, and even better they had managed to complete the quest and come back pretty unscathed. It was almost like we were celebrating life in general.

Luke finally showed himself, but as the summer wore on, he wouldn't speak to me. I tried to talk to him, not even about what he was upset about, but idle banter like we always did, but he would say he just remembered he had something else to do and run off before I could object. The only time I really saw him was during our one-on-one sword training, but he pushed me so hard, I never had time to actually talk to him. Afterward, he'd leave as quickly as possible before I could get a word in.

Needless to say, this didn't help my nerves.

He'd been acting strange ever since the summer solstice and I wanted _so badly_ for him to tell me what was wrong. I wanted to fix it. I hated seeing him so distraught and… angry. It was like when he'd returned from his quest all over again. But I couldn't fathom why he was so upset over Percy returning alive, and there being no war. And Annabeth—she'd returned alive, too. They shared a bond I couldn't even come close to sharing with Luke, he should've been ecstatic to know she'd survived.

I just… couldn't understand. And Luke wasn't letting me.

Time flew by, even though I wasn't having very much fun. Soon it was July.

July Fourth was the first time Luke talked to me after Percy, Annabeth and Grover had returned. He still looked upset and angry, but he joined me to watch the fireworks the Hephaestus cabin had put together for this year. It wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it could've been. We were both silent and the tension between us was thick. I wanted to speak, but I wasn't sure what to say. I was also afraid the wrong thing might come out and he'd ditch me.

Instead of enjoying myself, I pondered our relationship, because I was so confused. We'd become best friends, that was pretty clear. Then, twice, Luke had tried to kiss me. I knew what that meant. But now? Now he was avoiding me and not talking to me at all. What did that mean? If this was some kind of way of telling me he's not interested after all, he was doing a horrible job.

I glanced at him from the corners of my eyes. He was watching the fireworks, but his eyes were distant. His face was set in a permanent scowl, his eyebrows were furrowed. His eyes sparked with anger. Or it could've been the fireworks.

I sighed in time with the exploding fireworks so he wouldn't hear me before turning to look back up at the sky. I just didn't know anymore.

I was trying to give him as much space as possible, but not being there for him when he was clearly in distress was hard for me. It was stressful, because I was waiting for him to come to me. At the same time, how was I supposed to know if he was waiting for me? I mean, I suppose avoiding me made it clear, but what if deep down he really did want to talk about it? What if I wasn't pushing hard enough? On the other hand of that, I didn't want to push him too hard and make him angry with me, either.

Why were people so confusing?

July passed and Luke still hadn't spoken about why he was so upset. Gradually, his scowl lessened, but there was still that anger in his eyes he could hide from anyone but me (and possibly Annabeth). He started talking to me again, but it was still tense. I was always afraid I'd blurt something stupid out and he always made sure to stay far away from the topic of Percy's quest.

Before I knew it, it was our last night at the camp. I was a year-rounder, though, so technically it wasn't the last night for me.

Things were the same, only they weren't. There was chatter about what people would be doing over the year, idle banter, more rumors (I didn't pay attention to any of them, so don't ask).

We did the usual: food offering to the gods, eating, and then going down to the bonfire. Only this time we got our beads. I was usually really hyped to get my bead. It meant another year survived. I'd get to see another day. But tonight I wasn't, not only because I'd been emotionally strung out for most of the summer, but also because of the bead they chose.

"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced as I stared down at the pitch black bead with a sea-green trident in the middle. Not quite. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp"—it wasn't as bad as I was making it; I was still bitter—"and the quest he undertook in the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!" I closed my hand around the small bead as everyone, even the Ares cabin, stood and cheered. I stood but I stayed quiet. It was just going to be a painful reminder.

The next morning I got the usual letter informing me that I'd have to move out or get eaten by harpies, or tell the Big House I was staying all year. I'd have to remember to do that before I noon. I'd already gotten in enough trouble with the harpies, I'm sure they would've loved to eat me after the first time I dusted them.

I sat on the edge of my bed, holding the letter in my hand, thinking about all that happened this summer. It had been quite eventful, that was for sure.

I looked back down at the letter and sighed. I stood, ready to go over to the Big House and inform them I would be staying year-round, because if I didn't do it now, I don't think I'd ever get it done. I'd probably get so caught up in my own thoughts, I'd forget.

I opened the door and stepped out just as someone was stepping in. I gasped and veered back. Luke stood in front of me, looking just as startled, but it was quickly replaced with a small smile.

"Just the girl I was looking for," he told me quietly, stepping in and closing the door. I stepped back a bit more to give him room.

"Oh?" I asked, my voice slightly higher. I wasn't sure if it was from the nervousness and sudden fluttering in my stomach or because he'd just scared me half to the death.

Luke turned to face me, looking nervous himself.

"First, I want to apologize for how I acted this summer." he started. "It was just…" He trailed off, grimacing. "Rough. I… I wish I could explain more—about why and how—but I can't. At least, not right now. I just want you to know that I'm sorry for pushing you away."

Anger blossomed inside me, burning away the butterflies in my stomach.

"Well why can't you tell me?" I asked. "You can trust me, you know."

Luke stepped toward me, putting his hands on my shoulders. "I know," he said, almost feverishly. "I know, but… I just… I just can't!" He stepped away, and turned suddenly agitated. "I want to, Tori, because I _do_ trust you." He turned back to face me, his eyes softening. "I trust you with my life." His eyes hardened, like he was making a decision final. "But I can't. I won't." He started pacing, then. "Not right now. I'll explain. _Soon_. You're staying all year, again, right?" Luke stopped to look at me and I nodded mutely. He continued pacing. "Then right now isn't a good time."

"What's wrong, Luke?" I finally questioned, the anger shrinking. He looked jumpy, yet focused, like he was running through a crucial plan in his mind. Thinking about options and scenarios.

He waved his hand flippantly in my direction as he continued to pace. "Nothing's wrong."

I stepped toward him and grabbed his arm to stop his pacing. He looked at me, almost as startled as when we'd almost crashed into each other a moment ago.

"Why are you lying to me? Keeping things from me?" I hadn't meant for my voice to sound so wounded.

Luke's eyes softened again and he _really_ looked at me. My hand slipped from his arm as he turned to fully face me.

"I'm doing this because I care about you." he told me softly while reaching up to caress my face, his fingers knotting in my hair, his thumb stroking my cheek. His free arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer to him. I tried not to squeak like a mouse as I stumbled forward.

"What do you mean?" I whispered, feeling breathless and dizzy.

Frustration flashed in his eyes. "I want to tell you. I want to tell you everything"—his grip on me tightened—"but I can't. It's for your safety, I promise. I'll tell you everything you want to know, in time."

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog.

"Luke, I don't know—" I started, breathlessly.

"Please, Tori, trust me." he interrupted. I could hear the desperation in his voice. This was serious. He was seriously doing this to keep me safe. But from what, exactly? Had he gotten himself into something… dangerous? If so, why and how? I wanted to know all these things. I wanted to get some answers, I hated being left in the dark.

But as I gazed into his pleading blue eyes, I started to feel that maybe it was for the best. Maybe… he really was doing this to protect me. I was afraid from what, because that meant he'd been in danger, too.

"…okay," I finally agreed. "For now. You have to promise me you'll tell me what this is all about, though, okay?"

Relief washed over his features and a small smile graced his face.

"I promise," he whispered before leaning down.

My heart raced, my stomach did a somersault and I pulled back slightly. My skin felt even more heated and my breathing had gone ragged.

"What are you doing?" I squeaked. Our face were so close that we couldn't see each other's eyes anymore.

Luke chuckled. With him being so close, it made my head spin.

He answered my question with his own, "What does it look like? Just say no." He started to lean down again, but I veered back slightly again.

"I-I have to get to the Big House." I stammered, suddenly remembering what I'd set out to do before I almost crashed into Luke.

"Okay," he said before kissing me. It was… everything I'd imagined and more, and much too short. Before I knew what was happening, Luke had pulled away and gone over to his bunk.

I spun around, my face flushed, my heart still pounding against my ribcage. My hands were shaking. Luke looked completely cool, which made me angry.

"What was that?" I asked, glaring at him.

He turned and smiled infuriatingly at me.

"You said you need to go to the Big House," he answered easily.

"You're a jerk," I told him, going over to him, grabbing the front of his shirt and pushing him against the bedpost holding up the top bunk, before standing up on my tip-toes and continuing the kiss.

In the middle of all this, a thought sped through my mind: At some point, I was going to have to invest in a watch.

I only wished I knew what would be coming after our first kiss. I wouldn't have let him go, if I had.

* * *

><p><strong>I feel great. I'm on a roll. I don't think I've ever written this much so fast before. I've missed it. Greatly. More exciting things to come, because Luke's taking his leave to embark on the <strong>_**Princess Andromeda**_** next chapter, but not before trying to kill Percy, of course.**

**The title is a part from Taylor Swift's, "Last Kiss."**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed.**

**Also, I finished The Mark of Athena the same day I posted the last chapter. Everything still hurts and nothing is okay, even today. Still coping from it, by the way. Don't think I'll **_**ever**_** be over it, honestly…. As long as Percy and Annabeth are okay, I'll be okay.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	7. Seven

**Dialogue from TLT. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>This Path Before Me<p>

Luke left a little after we kissed, but not before grabbing some things and shoving them into his gym bag. He was careful to do this quickly, almost like he didn't want me to see. I brushed this off, because I had other things on my mind. Like the fact that he'd kissed me. And what was our relationship now? Were we going to talk about this?

He told me he was going down the arena to do some training before giving me a chaste kiss and leaving. I was too stunned by all this to ask him if he wanted to talk about what just happened. By the time my brain even remotely started to reboot, he was long gone.

I sat down on the edge of my bed, waiting for my hands to stop shaking and my heart to settle down. This didn't work well, though, because I got edgy, just sitting around. The silence was starting to kill me, even though it had been something I looked forward to at the end of the summer. Now it was _too _quiet.

I decided I'd got to the armory, grab a bow and a quiver or arrows and do some target practice in the woods. Training sounded nice.

About two year, I found that I really enjoyed shooting from the trees, hopping and jumping from branch to branch and shooting down targets, enemies or monsters. I had gotten quieter with my leaps, but I still needed a lot of practice. There had been a lot of falling, a lot of broken things, a lot of pain. But no pain, no gain, right? So that was what I decided I'd do in the forest.

First, to the Big House to inform Chiron I would be staying another year. I thought it a tad bit unnecessary to have to do it every single time summer ended, because I had no home anymore—Camp Half-Blood was my home, and Chiron knew this. I went along with it, because getting eaten my harpies didn't sound like a fun way to die.

After a quick trip to the armory, I went up to the where the forest began and started my climb.

Archery always seemed to calm me down. When I was holding a bow and arrow, I really felt in my element. Like I could conquer the world. When I held them, they became a part of me. The sound of an arrow shooting from my quiver and hitting a target was always satisfying.

I suppose it wasn't all calming. Thinking about it too much left a bitter taste in my mouth, only because it reminded me that Apollo hadn't claimed me when he'd claimed my brother.

My relationship with Dan had changed after that. With good reason. I tried not to resent him, because it wasn't like he wanted that to happen, but deep down I did. Still, I talked to him occasionally, but not as much as we had been when we were both in the Hermes cabin. An irreparable rift had formed between us after that. He also had other siblings that he could use as a crutch, to help him cope with being thrown into a world of gods and monsters.

I was left alone, so I turned to Luke. I think that's why we grew so close. I was looking for someone else to help me through this. Luke had been through much more than I had and when he and Annabeth stopped keeping to themselves so much, I found a friend in him.

Now, it seemed, I'd found a… boyfriend in him.

The only tedious thing about shooting at imaginary targets and monsters was having to go down to the ground to pick up my arrows. I didn't need to, because we made new ones each year. I felt bad, though. I wasn't using them on anything necessary, so it felt like a waste if I were to just leave them sticking out of the ground.

After a little bit of practice with my arrows, I focused on hopping from tree to tree, branch to branch as silently as possible. The leaves still rustled, but only like there was a slight breeze blowing through them and not like a large human was lumbering and stumbling through them.

I also listened for sounds of monsters, just in case. I paused and looked up at the sky. Beautiful blue, not a cloud to be seen. The sun was reaching the peak of the sky, signaling noon, or almost noon at least. It didn't seem like any monster would be out here in such heat. Even if it was a nice day out.

Even so, I continued jumping onto branches as nimbly as possible, occasionally shooting at a spot on the ground or a fluttering leaf. I knew well enough not to shoot at the trees or bushes. I'd encountered one angry dryad, who had a somewhat indirect part in breaking my leg. I had been trying to get from one tree to the next, but the dryad decided to turn into its human-like form. With no tree to catch me, I fell right onto my leg. Clean break, blood, bone sticking out of skin, the whole nine yards.

Later, after passing out, having my bone put back into place, passing out again, drinking so much nectar I thought for sure I'd spontaneously combust, and going through weeks of immobilized healing, she told me that's what I got for shooting at the trees in the forest. Having been at camp for three years prior I knew that there were such things as tree nymphs. The arrow I'd shot that landed in her tree had been a complete accident. She replied—when I'd told her this—that her poof-ing the tree out of existence had been an accident, too.

I made sure not to accidentally shoot any bushes or trees anymore.

Even now, jumping through them was a privilege and I didn't take it for granted.

When I found my stride, making even less noise, I started hopping and leaping, and even swinging sometimes, through the branches. It was exciting and adrenaline-inducing. I felt my ADHD kick into overdrive, sensing every little movement in the underbrush below and in the trees branches. I felt every little brush of summer breeze against my skin, every little caress from the leaves on my arms, face and neck.

I was having so much fun, I almost didn't hear the talking. When I did, I froze immediately, afraid they'd notice me. I mean, it wasn't like I was embarrassed or anything, this was just my alone time and I wanted to keep it that way if I could.

Thankfully, I couldn't see them, so that meant they couldn't see me. I could definitely hear voices now that I'd stopped moving. I was close enough to be able to make out a few words, but not everything. The voices sounded familiar, though….

One of them spoke, but they didn't speak long enough for me to be able to make out where I knew them from. The other spoke more and it was itching on the edge of my memory. Maybe if I got just a little closer.

Keeping my breathing shallow, I crept forward, making sure to make as little disturbance on the branch as possible. The leaves ruffled a bit, but not enough to bring attention to them. Not on a sunny, summer afternoon. If the two were too caught up in their conversation, they wouldn't pay any attention to some rattling leaves unless it was excessive.

As I got closer, I realized I did, in fact recognize the voice that was still speaking: Luke. And he sounded upset.

I paused contemplating this. I didn't want to just jump into the conversation, that'd be awkward. How would I explain how I got there? _Oh, I wanted to train too and was just in the neighborhood._ Yeah, like he'd believe _that_. I didn't think whoever he was with was going to believe it either. With that decided, I turned away and started to head back.

Only, suddenly, Luke laughed. But it wasn't his warm, melt-your-heart, make-you-smile-and-want-to-laugh-too laugh. It was humorless, cold. It sent chills down my spine. My pulse quickened and my breath turned slightly ragged. I stood precariously between two boughs, trying to decide if I was going to go back and try eavesdropping.

Curiosity finally got the best of me. Luke hadn't sounded like Luke. As he continued to speak, his voice became angrier. I could hear that now that I was really paying attention. This also shocked me. I'd never heard him that angry before.

I carefully picked my way even closer, until through the branches and leaves I saw them. Percy and Luke. They were on the other side of the ravine that separated the north and south parts of the forest. Percy was sitting on a rock outcropping, looking up at Luke, his green eyes filled with a mix of shock, anger, hatred and confusion. Luke was only partially facing me and because they were both in the shade of a tree, I couldn't read his expression.

Then I saw something big and black on Percy's shoe, creeping its way up his ankle. It definitely wasn't a bug.

I put a hand to my mouth and tried not to breath or move. I didn't want to make any noise or fall out of the tree.

Swallowing hard and making sure I wasn't going to go crashing through an empty spot in the branches, I took a step closer, onto another tree, in the shadow so I had the best possibility of not being seen. I leaned against and put my hands on the trunk, peeking out from behind it at the scene before me. I wasn't sure what was going on, but from the looks of everything and Luke's tone of voice, it wasn't good.

For now, though, I was going to watch, because I didn't want to interrupt this. To be honest… I was nervous about what Luke would do. He seemed so unlike himself. So… _enraged_. I didn't think he would hurt me, but… that thing on Percy's leg didn't look friendly in the slightest. I decided if Percy needed help, I couldn't just stand by, however. That was one thing I was one hundred percent sure of.

"—'Western civilization' is a disease, Percy." Luke was saying, now that I could hear him clearly. Thankfully, neither of them seemed to notice me. "It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."

What was he talking about? Where had all this come from?

"You're as crazy as Ares." Percy provided, despite the thing on his leg. (What did Ares have to do with this?)

I couldn't see Luke's expression but his hands furled into fists. "Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."

Right on cue, the gleaming black thing made its way up onto Percy's leg.

"Kronos," Percy said almost feverishly. "That's who you serve."

The air around the area grew colder. I almost took a tumble out of the tree.

_What?_

Something grew cold in my pocket. I reached in and pulled out a thin chain-link necklace with a single charm of a scythe. I stared at it confusion. When—?

"You should be careful with names," Luke cautioned Percy, his voice quieting down again as I blinked, his voice bringing me back to the conversation. I slipped the necklace back into my pocket. I'd figure out what it was later. Right now, I wanted an explanation for what had led up to the scene in front of me (also what they were even talking about), maybe I'd get one if I kept listening. But I needed to keep my cool, stay in the tree, and pay attention.

"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams." Percy continued, saying his name again, anyway. My head reeled, but I couldn't afford to think about this right now!

Luke paused a small moment—giving me time to catch my breath, so to speak—before saying, "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."

"He's brainwashing you, Luke."

"You're wrong." Luke's anger rose again and I jumped before cursing at myself silently. "He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, _that_ was the best he could think up." This last sentence was said through gritted teeth.

I instantly felt dread weighing on my chest, a cold rock forming in the pit of my stomach. He'd been angry for so long? Why hadn't he told me? I would've been there for him. Luke should've known that. Maybe Kronos had gotten to him before I could….

"That's not an easy quest," Percy tried. "Hercules did it."

"Exactly," Luke spat. "Where's the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me _this_"—his hand shot up, pointing angrily at his face, no doubt his scar—"and when I came back, all I got was _pity_." I felt pain blossom inside me, along with the dread and cold stone. It was like I hadn't even been there. I'd done everything I could to make him smile again. Had that meant nothing to him? Had he perfected his fake smiles? Or had I become desensitized? Or maybe both…?

"I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then," Luke continued, "but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip"—my blood turned to ice; _no way_—"while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades's helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. There security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."

I had to put a hand over my mouth again. I was starting to hyperventilate. I had _been_ there, on Mount Olympus for that. I'd _been there_. I remembered hearing the storms.

Percy spoke, bringing me (just barely) back to the conversation. His voice sounded strained, like he was trying to keep it under control, to keep Luke from seeing just how panicked he felt. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"

There was a pause. Luke's face was still in shadow. "I… I got overconfident." he admitted. "Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt—Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke suddenly pulled out his sword. I looked at it, my eyebrows furrowing. That metal seemed wrong, but I couldn't figure out why.

Luke continued. "Afterward, the Lord of Titans… h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way—from Ares down to Tartarus."

Something dawned on Percy. "_You_ summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."

I sucked in a sharp breath and whispered, "_What?_" Only too late did I realize my mistake. I clamped a hand over my mouth and ducked behind the trunk of the tree, spinning around and pressing my back up against the trunk, but it had gone deadly quiet. The only sound was the river softly flowing through the forest. Not even the breeze stirred the leaves or bushes.

"Who's there?" Luke asked, his voice harsh and commanding. "Show yourself!"

I didn't move. I kept absolutely still, a hand still over my mouth. I didn't dare breath.

"I know you're there," Luke warned darkly. "If I have to come find you, it's not going to be pleasant."

I vaguely wondered if he would've said that had he known it was me. I also decided I should show myself. Less chance of a fight breaking out. Less chance of anyone getting hurt.

Without speaking, I climbed down onto a lower branch before jumping out of the tree, still hidden by its trunk. I unslung my bow from my shoulder and nocked an arrow. It was more so for the black thing that had been sitting on Percy's shoe (because I had no idea what it was or what it was meant for), than it was protection against Luke. I honestly didn't think he'd hurt me.

Keeping my bow and arrow down, I slowly turned and walked around the tree's trunk, stepping out into the sunlight, out to where both Luke and Percy could see me. My eyes were on Luke, though.

"Hey, Luke," I said in a ragged voice. His wintery blue eyes widened in surprised, all melting from their depths. His sword was raised as if he'd been expecting to be attacked—which in all fairness, he probably had—but it dropped slightly when he saw me.

"Tori?" he asked, his eyes flickering nervously to Percy before back to me. He took a step toward me, sword still raised. I automatically took a step back, raising my bow and arrow. Luke immediately froze and held his other hand up in a stop gesture. "Whoa, hey, it's all right," he assured. "I'm not going to hurt you." Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he slowly sheathed his sword.

I slowly lowered my bow and arrow, but didn't put either of them away. I was still glaring warily at Luke, but I felt the tears stinging my eyes. I looked at Percy who looked like he wanted to attack Luke, with his back turned like it was, but something was stopping him. Probably the thing on his foot. Now that I was closer, I could see it resembled a scorpion.

"Is it true?" I asked, my voice shaking. "What you said? You stole the lightning bolt and the helm of darkness? You're working for… for Kronos?" A cold breeze blasted through the forest. The leaves rustled all at once and only for a second before settling down. A chill ran down my spine. The necklace in my pocket felt like it'd frozen solid.

Luke glanced back at Percy again before taking another step toward me. I mirrored, taking a step back.

"Yes," he admitted, meeting my eyes again. "Yes, it's true"—he continued on quickly, because I took another step back, shaking my head—"but if you were listening to what I was saying back there, you understand why." Luke started toward me, stepping into the river, with his hands raised in an "I surrender" gesture, but I stepped back again raising my bow and arrow anger washing through me.

"Don't come near me," I spat through gritted teeth. More tears flooded my eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Tori," Luke said slowly, taking careful steps toward me. I could see the hurt in his eyes. I hoped it meant he was hurt that I thought he'd hurt me and not for some other reason. Or… fake.

"You, of all people, should know what I'm talking about," Luke broke me out of my thoughts. "Your own father hasn't even _claimed_ you but he claimed your brother." At this point, he was standing with an arrow tip brushing his forehead. My hands were gripping the bow and arrow so hard my knuckles were white. "If you don't believe me, then go ahead, shoot."

His blue eyes bored into mine. He kept his hands up and never looked away from me. He knew I wouldn't be able to shoot him. Not like this. Unarmed, in cold blood, despite what he'd done.

Despite what he'd done, I found I still loved him.

I lowered my bow and arrow, still glaring at him. Luke dropped his arms before turning to look at Percy over his shoulder.

"Just remember what I told you about my little friend, Jackson," he growled. "Any sudden movement and you're dead." He turned back to me and steered me over to the tree I'd come from, far enough away that Percy wouldn't hear our conversation if we spoke in hushed tones, but close enough that Luke could keep an eye on him.

"Is this what you weren't telling me? Why you pushed me away for two months?" I murmured, my tears finally spilling over. I used the back of my wrist to wipe them away, for I was still holding my bow and arrow. Percy could still see both of us, and I didn't want to look like a cry-baby in front of him.

Luke put his hands on my upper forearms gently. "Yes, but for good reason," he said in the same quiet tone. "I promised to explain it _all_ to you later. I intend to keep that promise, but right now I have to handle this." He jerked his head toward Percy.

"Luke, you're not going to kill him, are you?" I wanted to demand he explain why he couldn't tell me this now, but speaking of Percy brought back what Luke had warned him before coming to talk to me.

Luke's face darkened. "I have to. He knows about this. About me, what I've done. I can't let him report it to the gods."

I shook my head, my voice rose when I spoke, "Luke, that's wrong. That's—"

"Shh, shh, Tori," Luke squeezed my arms, taking a step closer to me. "Please, understand that this is something I _need_ to do." I gazed up at him searchingly. It didn't look like he was going to waver anytime soon. I'd just have to somehow stop that… _thing_ without Luke's knowledge. I wasn't going to let Percy die.

As for Luke, I had to make sure he knew I was still on his side. I wanted him to trust me. To tell me everything… so I could figure out a way to stop him, to save him.

"Where will you go?" I asked in a quiet voice again, looking down.

"I have somewhere I'll be able to hide," Luke answered, sounded relieved that I'd seemingly accepting his task. He put a finger under my chin and lifted my head so I could meet his eyes. They always managed to take my breath away. "Do you have the necklace?"

One of my hands twitched to the pocket it was in. I nodded mutely. The scythe, of course! I couldn't believe I'd forgotten that the scythe was the sign of Kronos. He'd wielded a scythe. Zeus had used it to chop him into pieces.

"You'll be able to contact me with it. It'll also help me keep tabs on the camp." he explained.

I pulled away from his hand and gripped my bow and arrow tighter. "You want me to spy on the camp?" I asked in a whisper.

"Just for a little while." he said quickly. "I'll find another spy that I know I can trust and then I'll come get you and explain _everything_. I promise. I knew I could trust you with this. That's why I gave the necklace to you."

I was feeling weak from this rush of information, but I needed to stay on my feet and coherent if I was going to figure out how to save Percy in the first place.

"…all right," I acquiesced in an even smaller voice than before, my eyes dropping to the forest floor again.

This didn't last long because Luke took my face in his hands and kissed me. It was quick and short, but I leaned forward to sneak in another one before pulling away.

"Thank you," he breathed, before dropping his hands and taking a step back. I looked back at Percy. He was watching me with appraising green eyes. I tried to send him a silent message that I'd be back to help, but as I put away my arrow, shouldered my bow and grabbed the branch above me to get back into the trees, it was apparent the message didn't get across.

His green eyes flashed like Greek fire, looking at me incredulously and infuriated. I would be back, though. I couldn't let this kid just die.

I looked down at Luke and nodded once. As I turned to jump to another tree I noticed the incredulousness in Percy's eyes turn into sheer panic before Luke turned to face him again and he tried to hide it. I quickly started jumping through the trees. I was going to circle back around, only onto the other side of the forest, hopefully near where Percy and Luke were. And hopefully in time.

If I'd just known how much pain Luke was in—I shook myself. I couldn't dwell on this right now. I had to push down the emotional turmoil and all my swirling thoughts so I could focus on my task, focus on where I was going, and do it swiftly and silently. I kept my eyes on the trees in front of me as a numbness, a deadly calm, settled over me, allowing my mind to concentrate.

I slowed when I heard their voices again. This time I was on their side of the river. I was breathing hard as I crept up once again through the trees, unslinging my bow and nocking an arrow. I found a good hiding spot, in the tree that was shading Percy. I stayed behind the trunk, in the shadow, but just so that I could see Percy. I could see fractions of Luke through the leaves and hoped he didn't see me or wouldn't look up any time soon. His sword was out again.

The scorpion had made its way onto Percy's thigh at this point. The tone in Luke's voice had a finality to it. I'd made it just in time.

"Luke—" Percy tried.

"Goodbye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it." he interrupted right before slashing his sword in an arc in the empty space next to him before stepping through some sort of portal, shimmering and disappearing.

The black thing then lunged at Percy's face. Quick as lightning I stepped forward and around the tree's trunk so I had a better aim, raised my bow and arrow, and let my arrow fly. The Celestial bronze tip pierced the monster, disintegrating it into sulfurous dust, the arrow landing right between Percy's legs.

Percy, who'd pulled a sword from nowhere as far as I could tell, looked up and over his shoulder at me, stunned. If it was possible, he looked even more incredulous than he had when he thought I'd left him to die.

I jumped down from my hiding spot, landing next to him, and turned so I could face him, offering my hand.

"You okay?" I asked, the deadly calm still coursing through me.

Percy looked back and forth between me and my hand, his eyes still wide. He finally took it and I helped him to his feet. By now, the shock had worn out. His green eyes were now very cautious. "You saved me," he said.

"I'm not a heartless monster," I told him, my voice hard.

"But you and Luke…" He trailed off, pointing across the stream. I half-turned to look over. I assumed he'd been pointing to the spot that we'd talked and kissed.

I turned back to him. "That's not really your business," I told him in a crisp voice. Percy gazed at me intently. I noticed he still had his sword out.

"Nice sword," I commented, gesturing to it.

A smile tugged at the edge of his lips. "Watch," he said, before touching the tip of his sword with a cap to a disposable ball-point pen, which, right before my eyes, shrunk down into a actual disposable ball-point pen.

I tried not to look too stunned. "Cool trick."

Percy slipped it into his pocket. "It also reappears in my pocket if I lose it."

"Handy," I muttered, trying not to sound jealous. I went over to grab the arrow that was sticking out of the rock.

"I still don't understand: Why'd you save me?" Percy asked as I did so.

I pulled the arrow—too damaged by the rock to be useful anymore—out and asked my own question, "What was that thing, anyway? It looked like a… scorpion?" I straightened up, arrow in hand, and turned to face him again. His eyes had gone back to caution. I met his gaze, daring him to ask me his question again before he answered mine.

"A pit scorpion. A monster from Tartarus." He finally answered. "You're turn."

I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment, feeling the hurt creep up on me, just thinking about everything that'd happened. "Because you're just a kid. A sweet kid." I turned and looked out through the forest, shoving the arrow back into the quiver.

Percy muttered, "Oh… wonderful, I come back from the Underworld, fight Ares to retrieve Hades's helm of darkness and return Zeus's lightning bolt to Olympus, and all I am is _sweet_." I stifled a laugh. He paused. "You know you're not _that_ much older than I am."

"We should get to the Big House. Report this to Chiron, so he can inform the gods." I looked at him over my shoulder. "And I'm eighteen. I'm six years your senior, kid." I smirked before staring into the woods, without waiting for a reply. I heard Percy's pursuing footsteps and soon he was next to me. I could feel his sea-green gaze on my face.

"You'd do it, just like that?" he asked.

I gave him a sidelong glare, my left hand gripping my bow harder. "Why is that so shocking?"

Percy faced forward, his ears turning pink. "Ah… just… you and him—"

"We've been over this." I snapped.

"Hey, no offense, but I don't think you want him as your boyfriend. He's turned completely evil." Percy said.

I felt the edges of my lips twitch at his use of evil. Evil people belonged in stories and books. Though… Luke had seemed so different than I'd ever seen him. All that pent up anger. Kronos was no doubt feeding on it. Feeding him half-truths to make Luke cooperate with him, help him. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that feeding emotions that are already there was always the best way to control someone. Considering that Luke's had been there, but very, very prominent, he was the perfect pawn for the titan lord.

I gripped my bow even harder.

No. I wasn't going to let Kronos get away with this. Not just trying to rise, but using Luke to do it. I was going to find Luke, whether he liked it or not, and convince him that the titan was simply using him, nothing more. That he didn't care about what happened to Luke, as long as he rose. I only hoped Luke wouldn't be too resentful to see.

"I was there," I reminded Percy in a dark tone.

We reached the edge of the trees in silence.

"You go on ahead," Percy said. "I'm going to go find Annabeth. She deserves to know about what's happened."

I nodded and we split up.

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><p><strong>Wow, so, long chapter—couldn't find a better stopping point. A little drama mixed in. As always, I hope you enjoyed!<strong>

**More exciting stuff to come up. Since Tori's a year-rounder she gets to go on the camp trip to Olympus. Being involved with the main man trying to raise the titan lord can get you into all kinds of trouble, I can imagine.**

**Title is taken from a part of the song, "Mephistopheles Return."**

**Also, my dear reader FadedSunset, first I'd like to thank you for commenting—yes, Tori is quite different (glad it comes across that way) and things are moving quite quick (it'll slow a tiny bit, I think, as I get further into the series; I am super excited to get to Titan's Curse and afterward; I have so many ideas!)—and second, I appreciate the reassurance about the HoO series. Like, seriously appreciate it. I was panicking so much after reading the end of MoA it was ridiculous. To hear that the series ends pretty well, makes me feel much better. So, thank you for that, truly.**

**Last thing: Happy New Year('s Eve)!**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	8. Eight

**TRIGGER WARNING: gore and violence.**

* * *

><p>Throw Away My Faith<p>

Chiron and I waited for Percy and Annabeth is silence. Chiron had gone into his wheelchair form and was sitting in the front room, staring pensively at the empty fireplace. I was pacing as my mind raced.

There were just so many things to think about. I'd learned so much today. I didn't know what to think about Luke anymore. I still loved him, whether as a friend or romantically, I wasn't sure anymore, but I knew I still loved him. I just couldn't _believe_ he had allied with… Kronos.

The necklace in my pocket grew colder when I thought this. I almost pulled it out, but froze my hand and my pacing. I glanced at Chiron. He was too busy thinking to notice me. I continued pacing.

What had made him so angry? Why hadn't I seen this sooner? I felt like a failure, not picking up on that. Why hadn't he come to me about this either? If I could've just _talked_ to him, maybe we wouldn't be where we were now. I wasn't sure where that was, in all fairness, but it didn't seem like it was heading in a good direction. If it involved the titan lord, especially.

The necklace felt like it was burning in my pocket, but I made a conscious effort to ignore it and not take it out. Not right now.

Another thing to worry about.

It weighed me down, because I felt like a traitor carrying it around—I was one for agreeing to spy on the camp for Luke. But I couldn't not comply…. It gave me a way to communicate with him, a link to wherever he was at any given moment. Not only that, but if I got him to trust me with this, then maybe he'd listen to me when I tried to convince him what he was doing was wrong. And maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to save him from something that was bound to end up disastrous for everyone involved. If I could just _talk_ to him about this…

Percy and Annabeth's arrival interrupted my thoughts and pacing. I sat down in a chair, but fidgeted and bounced my leg. Chiron sat next to me, Percy and Annabeth sat across from us, on the sofa. Percy told Chiron and Annabeth what happened at the river, minus the kiss, to my relief but also surprise. When he finished, silence hung in the air.

"I can't believe that Luke…" Annabeth finally spoke, faltering with her words. Anger and sadness crept into her voice. "Yes." she decided. "Yes, I _can_ believe it. May the gods curse him…. He was never the same after his quest."

What she said made me realize that I _had_ noticed his change, I either didn't comprehend how intense it was or was in denial about it.

Chiron turned his ancient eyes on me.

"Did you know about this?" he asked in a soft voice, but his eyes were piercing.

I had to process his question. As I did this, I glanced over at Annabeth and Percy. I couldn't quite read Percy's expression, but Annabeth's was clear. She was glaring at me scathingly. I looked back at Chiron.

"No," I had meant for it to be a strong resonant, no, but it had come out in a whisper. I shook my head and spoke louder, "No, I… I had no idea what… what Luke was up to."

"You are sure he didn't mention anything to you about his plans? Please, this is important." Chiron urged, still in a soft, understanding voice. But his eyes had morphed to solemn and… knowing, like he knew I was hiding something. My hand twitched, almost going to my pocket, but I managed to keep it where it was, in my lap. I'm sure Chiron didn't miss this, though. I just wasn't sure what he'd think of it.

"Nothing," I answered. This time, my voice sounded more hurt. "All he said was he had somewhere to hide." My brain was finally coming to grips with what I'd seen and heard. Luke hadn't told me and I felt hurt, almost betrayed. I had thought we kept nothing from each other. I mean, I had known he was keeping _something_ from me, what with the whole avoiding me after Percy returned and our conversation earlier today, but I didn't think it was this bad. I didn't think he'd keep something this big from me.

I couldn't understand it, either. I thought about the conversation we'd had right before he went down to the arena. Right before he'd tried to kill Percy. He had been trying to keep me safe by not telling me things. Which must have been this. That he was the lightning thief and that he was trying to help Kronos rise again. But how was not telling me keeping me safe? I just didn't understand!

"I can vouch for her, Chiron," Percy said, derailing my spinning thoughts. I was actually thankful for that. Chiron turned to him. Annabeth's glare turned disbelieving as she turned toward Percy. "Not only did she save my life, but…"—he glanced at me—"she looked pretty shaken up when she, uh, came out of hiding, like she didn't know about what Luke had done."

I was mildly taken aback. Only because he knew my situation was complicated. He knew that Luke and I had something, which made everything iffy. If he thought about it more, he really shouldn't have trusted me. At the very least, he shouldn't have testified for me. He should've stayed cautious and wary of me.

Saving his life didn't mean anything with the stakes so high. I could be a spy (I mean, I was, but that's not really the point) and just pretending for the sake that I needed to be at camp for all Percy knew. I was caught between two sides that I couldn't choose from: My home and the person I loved. Which was never a good thing in a coming war, if Kronos succeeded and were to rise again.

One look at Annabeth and I knew she was thinking the exact same thing. I didn't expect anything less from a child of Athena. I'd have to be much more careful around her now. I vaguely wondered if she'd still give me knife lessons.

Chiron nodded before sitting back, his face deep in thought. "This must be reported to Olympus." he finally murmured bleakly. "I will go at once."

"Luke is out there right now," Percy protested. "I have to go after him."

"No, Percy. The gods—" Chiron tried to warn him.

"Won't even _talk_ about Kronos," he snapped. I don't think I'd ever heard him talk like that before, seen him that mad, and toward Chiron. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"

Annabeth touched Percy's arm to catch his attention. Then, suddenly, three pairs of eyes were on me.

"Don't mind me, I was just about to leave anyway," I muttered as I stood up, avoiding all their gazes.

"I will see you at dinner, tonight, Tori?" Chiron asked as I went over to the door. I turned back around to face him.

"Of course," I said softly, managing a small smile before exiting.

The months following were hard. To say the least.

Today, specifically, was the day that what was left of the camp took the annual winter trip to Mount Olympus. I wasn't feeling great, but Chiron wouldn't let me stay unsupervised. I tried to assure him that I'd be totally fine, but he insisted I come. His tone was clear that I was going, whether I liked it or not. (I think, also, the trip was, technically, mandatory.)

As we drove up to the Empire State building, I looked out the window and up at the top. It was a cold but clear morning. There was some snow on the ground, despite the sun, which didn't help much with warmth.

A year ago today Luke had snuck into the throne room and stolen two gods' symbols of power. I imagined they'll be keeping a better eye on their symbols of power now, because of that.

There wasn't a lot of us, we looked like a class of children and teens on a field trip from an ordinary camp. It took two trips to get everyone up.

Even in a sour mood and feeling like a total traitor, Mount Olympus always left me feeling breathless. It was just beautiful, all the glittering golds and whites, and the fires that burned in the bronze braziers, keeping away the chill so high up.

I followed the group across the bridge, floating in midair. I glanced down at the city below remembering the first time I'd visited here. I was lightheaded because of how beautiful Olympus was. I was also afraid of falling to my death. It wasn't just the fear of the walkway crumbling or collapsing beneath my feet, it was also the feeling of making one wrong move and taking a spill right over the side. At this point, after visiting so many times, I'd mostly gotten over these fears.

I knew by now that the stones would never crumble, but I was still slightly afraid I'd have a sudden klutz attack and fall off the side. Luke had always offered his hand.

I shook myself and continued forward. Too many bittersweet memories. (Why did I have to have so many? It didn't seem fair.)

Our group stayed at a little house in a Modern Greek style. It had three stories, including the attic. The first story was where the girls stayed and the second story was for the boys. Those two floors had their own communal bathrooms and we ate elsewhere on the mountain. The walls were ivory, the top of the box gabled roof contrasted with its black roofing tiles. The front of the house was pristine as always. Three steps led up to a small porch. The roof overshot the front of the house, covering the porch, held up with four columns. There were three windows facing out from the second floor, two for the first with the door in between. The door had a shining golden door knob. I had no doubt it was made out of actual gold. At the very least, colored with gold.

We didn't get our own rooms, it was kind set up like the cabins, with bunks for the campers. I took a bottom bunk, as usual, and stayed behind as the rest of the campers left to take a tour around the mountain. Being a year-rounder for such a long time, I'd had time to explore every single spot and shadow on this mountain. I'd seen it all. Besides, I wasn't exactly in the mood to be exploring anyway.

After a few years, I occasionally hung out in the park, where the Nine Muses usually played. I liked listening to their music, though when their tune started to sound like my mom's I left. As much as I loved to hear my mother sing, they could never sound exactly like her. And being reminded of her still hurt. I guess I was still healing. Or maybe I wasn't even healing at all. It'd been six years since her death.

I sat on the edge of the bunk, staring at the floor. I looked around the empty room unnecessarily before pulling the small charm necklace from my pocket. I stared at the scythe, stroking it with my thumb. I'd done this about a million times since I'd gotten it. If I couldn't sleep, in the morning before anyone had woken up, after everyone went to sleep, when I was alone and had nothing else to do.

I had to constantly remind myself why I kept it in my pocket. Why I continued to spy on the camp for Luke. Looking at the big picture, the only thing that kept me holding into that small little scythe charm was the hope that I could save him. The hope that I'd be able to talk some sense into him, that I could take his anger away and make him see Kronos for what he truly was, for what he truly was doing.

That didn't mean I felt any less like a traitor.

I put the necklace back into my pocket and laid down on my bed. I closed my eyes, not intending to sleep, just to think, but I felt a wave of exhaustion rush through me. Before I knew it was out.

When I woke up, I was thirteen again.

It took me a moment to figure out where I was. My eyes were blurry from sleep and wherever I was, it was dark. Not horribly dark, but dark enough all I could make out were grey, fuzzy shapes. I reached to my left and hit, I think, a nightstand. I felt around for a lamp or something. My hand hit the base of a lamp and I followed the body of it until I found a switch.

Light flooded my eyes, overloading them and I had to squeeze them shut again before slowly opening them so they had time to adjust. I bolted upright when my eyes finally took in what they were seeing.

I was in my old room. The room in the apartment that my mother owned. That I had stayed in with her and my brother. I looked down at the bed. The midnight blue bedspread, the white sheets with golden stars on them, my _Starry Night_ pillowcases, it was all the same.

Looking around the room, I pinched my arm as hard as possible. Nothing happened, but this _had_ to be a dream. How else would I have gotten back here? But it felt so real. The warmth of the blankets. The soft light of my lamp showing all the posters on my walls of movies, book covers, actors and actresses. I reached over to the ones closest to me and strokes them. The glossy surface was smooth and cold to the touch. I took one of the pins out and poked myself with it, not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough it hurt. Still no waking up.

This _had_ to be a dream, but….

I put the tack back in place before continuing my scan of the room.

My desk was in the corner opposite of my bed, with a navy blue chair with wheels. On my desk was another lamp. Music papers, homework and textbooks littered the top with scattered pens and pencils. My backpack rested in my desk chair. My guitar sat at the end of my bed on its stand. The door was diagonally across from my bed.

It was a small room, but it was mine. Well, it used to be mine. Most of the things in here, I'd left. I vaguely wondered what had happened to them when suddenly a woman's voice, muted, called my name.

I froze and my heart skipped a beat before pounding painfully in my chest.

"Mom," I whispered, tears filling my eyes.

"Tori," she called again. "Time for dinner!"

"Mom!" I said, my voice stronger and louder this time, throwing my sheets off me and running to the door. I threw it open, my hands trembling, my heart racing wildly in my chest, and ran down the hall. I turned the corner and looked into the kitchen and froze.

"Mom," I whispered again. She was standing at the island, lifting something out of a frying pan and putting it onto a plate. Her pin-straight dark brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. When she looked over and smiled at me, her dark brown eyes (that looked hazel in direct sunlight) shone.

Her face fell as soon as she saw how distraught I looked. She put down the spatula and pan before quickly going over to me, leaning forward and taking my face in her hands.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked wiping away tears that I'd unknowingly spilled. "Why are you crying?"

"I just… I'm _really_ happy to see you," I stuttered, trying to hold back my sobs, drinking in her features. Just as I remembered, from her laugh lines and round eyes to her flower print apron and those ridiculous bunny slippers she insisted on wearing around the house all the time.

She laughed, making her laugh lines more prominent before pulling me into a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around her and breathed in her sweet scent. She usually smelled like honey. Right now it was a mix of honey and whatever she'd been cooking (fish, maybe?), but it went surprisingly well.

"Sweetie, you just saw me," she murmured in my ear, rubbing my back soothingly.

"I know, I just—" I broke off. This couldn't be real. Another wave of tears hit my eyes. I hugged her tighter. "I just had a bad dream." I finally managed to whisper.

She ran her fingers through my hair soothingly and I closed my eyes, my heart aching. I wanted to enjoy this, but that only meant it would hurt more when I lost her again….

"Come on," she said, pulling away to look at me. "Why don't you sit down at the counter? I'll hand you dinner and a nice, tall glass of cold water. I'll sing your favorite song, when you go to bed." She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. I nodded and headed around to the other side of the island. It had a counter and three barstools.

It wasn't the ideal for family dinners because we were all facing one direction, but again, this was a small apartment. Our dining/living space, which was across from the kitchen and separated by a sofa, was the living/TV room. So we made do with what the kitchen had.

Just as my mom had said, she set my plate down along with a glass of cold water. The steam coming from the food condensed on the glass. On the plate was some fish peppered with herbs and spices I couldn't distinguish except for the rosemary. Next to the fish was a scoop or two of green bean casserole.

I swallowed hard and looked away from the food. This was what we'd had the night that my mom had—

"Where's Dan?" I asked, my tears drying up but my heart kicking into high gear. My palms became sweaty and I couldn't stop shifting in my seat.

My mom turned away from the stove to face me.

"He'll be home late tonight: rehearsal for the play, remember?" she said, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Are you okay? You're acting strange."

I glanced down at my plate of food and felt the nausea roll over me. I looked back up at my mom.

"I—" I was cut off by a large crash where the front door was followed by a slow, low growl. The kitchen wall blocked my view but I didn't need to see to know what had just burst through the door.

Not saying a word, my mom ran over to me and pulled me from my stool. I felt frozen in shock. It was happening all over again and I felt absolutely helpless. It wasn't like I could change what happened, this was the past. This was a memory.

But as my mom pulled me back into my room, told me to stay quiet and then left, closing the door behind her, it felt all too real.

With my breath ragged and shaking, I grasped the door handle and opened the door a sliver to peek out. My mom was standing next to the sofa and a hellhound (I hadn't known what it was called at the time; not until Chiron came to pick me and Dan up) faced her, its lips pulled back in a snarl. She was grasping something relatively small but pointed in her hand. I was too far away to make out what it was.

Suddenly the hound turned its glowing red eyes on me and let out a growl. It started toward me but my mother with a cry of "_No!_" swung her arm out, with whatever she was holding, and managed to cut the beast. The thing froze, glaring at me with pure hatred before turning back to my mother. I could practically hear what it was thinking: take out the protector and the girl was all its.

"Mom!" I cried and threw myself out of my room when it lunged at her. By the time I'd even managed to get down the hall, though, it had pounced on her. She was shrieking, "Please! Help me! Apollo, please! Please! Apollo, help me, please! Apollo!" but I couldn't see anything because the sofa was blocking my view. All I saw the massive shoulders of the monster as they struggled.

I came forward more, needing to do something, to help my mom, but just as I did one of the hellhound's paws finally met its mark. Its razor-sharp claws raked over my mom's stomach. Blood spurted from the wound and my mom cried out in agony.

I froze, paralyzed with shock and fear. I couldn't even scream. My whole body felt as if it'd shut down. There was so much blood…

"Help me!" She continued to cry, though they were much more subdued. "Help me, please! Apollo!"

With a snarl the beast turned its massive head at me as quick as a cobra strike. I met its gaze, his red eyes glittered with malevolence. It lunged at me and seemed to freeze in midair. Or time slowed tremendously. My daze snapped and I suddenly perceived, what felt like, everything. I could hear my mother's soft, broken breathing, see the sweat beaded on her forehead, the sickly shade of grey she was turning, the tears streaming down her face.

The hellhound's eyes seemed to glow brighter. Its maw was open, exposing its pink tongue and gums. Out of the gums sprouted teeth so sharp and white they gleamed in the kitchen's lights. The body was longer than our sofa. Its muscles and fur rippled as it flew through the air at me. Its paws were probably the size of my face.

Then I noticed something else shining in the light coming from the kitchen. Our bronze letter opener. It had flown from my mom's hand across the room, next to the TV stand. I immediately knew what I had to do. Without even really thinking about it, I launched myself into the air as well, only off to my right and over the sofa. I passed the hellhound, who seemed too confused or stunned to swat at me with its massive paws.

I landed a few feet away from the letter opener, but the monster was _fast_. I started to get up, reaching for the opener when something slammed into my back, knocking me back to the floor. Knocking me so hard, my teeth snapped together—it's a wonder I didn't bite my tongue off—and the air left my lungs. I laid their gasping for a few seconds before I could finally breathe again.

When caught my breath, whatever had slammed into me was no longer pinning me to the ground. I slowly turned onto my back, holding my head and shoulders up with my arms. The hound's face was mere inches from mine. Its breath made my stomach churn. Then it pulled its lips back and a growl rumbled from its chest.

I spun around onto my stomach and clawed toward the letter opener with my left hand. Pain ripped through my shoulder and upper forearm as the monster's claws sliced through my skin like a hot knife through butter. I fought the black spots and the mind-numbing pain, finally grasping the weapon in my fingers. I blindly spun around, with the sharp end aimed at the beast.

The blade sunk into my target, who howled and pulled away. I tried to keep my hand where it was, so that the blade would rip through it as it tried to escape. I blinked away the black spots and tears just in time to see the thing melt back into the shadows on the carpet.

My left arm dropped, the letter opener clattered back to the floor. Blood poured from my wounds, as I sat there, shivering and gasping. More tears spilled down my face. Then I remembered my mom.

Willing my body to move, I got to my feet and stumbled over to my mom who was no longer moving. I collapsed to my knees next to her, right in the pool of blood. At that point I didn't care.

I was sobbing harder now. Despite my shredded arm, I reached up to take her head into my hands. Her eyes were wide and dark. She wasn't breathing. A horrible scream sliced through the apartment. It was only when I started to sink into unconsciousness did I realize the scream had been mine.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, well, I hadn't been expecting to not get to the part I wanted to in this chapter… but I really shouldn't be surprised. As always, I hope you enjoyed!<strong>

**As I said in the last chapter, being in a relationship with the main man trying to raise the titan lord could get you into a lot of trouble with the gods, I imagine. Guess that applies more to the next chapter, where what I wanted to happen will, for sure, actually happen. Sorry to mislead you, but you finally found out what happened to Tori and her mom, at least.**

**Title is from the song, "Angel with a Shotgun."**

**Finished House of Hades last night. My roommate was right when she said the ending is bittersweet. Already half-way through Blood of Olympus and I started it today.**

**To FadedSunset: Yes, I do love Tori and Percy's dynamic. It's fun to write.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	9. Nine

Just Another Night

When I opened my eyes, I was still in a memory, except I was eighteen again.

It had skipped ahead a couple of days. I was lying down, but when I tried to sit up, restraints tugged at my wrists. My heart shot into my throat and my stomach rolled sickeningly. I fell back down, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. I pulled my wrists and felt the all-too-familiar padded cuffs holding them to the edge of the bed, at my side. I tried to pull my legs toward me and met the same resistance, keeping them together and at the end of the bed.

Tears pricked my eyes. This had to the second most horrible memory my mind could conjure up: a mental hospital.

Fourteen isn't _that _young, but I didn't know to keep my mouth shut about what had happened. Police had claimed a wild animal, even suspected me before realizing that I had the same wounds in a place that would be hard for me to get at. They asked me what I saw and I told them, a large dog with glowing red eyes that I killed with a bronze letter opener. When they asked me where the dog had gone to, I told them it had melted away, into the shadows.

Saying it like that sounds pretty crazy now and I know that things like that exist. So you can imagine what they did then after hearing my account of what happened.

It didn't take them long to transfer me to the mental ward at the hospital. They restrained me because I struggled. "It was for my own good", so that I wouldn't tear my stitches. They then injected something into my arm to calm me down. As strong as the fear that that _thing_ would come back, or something like that, to attack me again was, I couldn't fight the medication.

I quickly learned to stop talking about the dog the size of a rhino with glowing red eyes that melted into shadow when killed.

The burning fluorescent lights of my room were still on. I was alone in my small room. The headboard of the bed was pressed up against the middle of one wall, with the door being on the same wall and to my left. The wall on my right had one window seat. All I could see out the window was the reflection of the room, so I figured it was nighttime.

I pulled at my restraints again as my heart rate quickened and my breathing became staggered and shallow. I was starting to panic. I may have been eighteen, but I felt fourteen again. Alone and scared.

The only shadow in this room was underneath my bed. My mind invoked an image of a monster worse than the hellhound forming from the shadow and slithering out from underneath.

I pulled at the restraints harder.

The lights flickered and I froze, now gasping and blinking hard. My eyes darted around the room, looking for anything moving. The walls were bare, the only object in here was the bed. Blood roared in my ears and my heart pounded painfully against my chest. I felt like someone was hammering a large, rusty nail right through my sternum with a mallet.

The lights flickered again. It lasted less than a second but less than a second was all it took for whatever was here to appear on my right, at my bedside. A scream bubbled up to my throat but stopped short when I fully processed who it was.

I didn't want to believe it. What was _he_ doing here?

"…Mr. D?" I asked in a strangled whisper, his presence doing nothing to calm me down.

He was dressed in his usual leopard print running suit. He looked just as unamused as always, but his face was much more serious now.

"I'd be careful struggling in those restraints, girl," he told me, eyes flickering down to my wrists. I lifted my head and looked. The padded cuffs had turned into grape vines. Not comforting in the slightest. I let my head fall back onto the pillow.

"Please let me go," I didn't exactly want to be begging Mr. D for anything, god or not, but this was bringing up unwanted memories and tearing open old wounds in the most excruciating way possible. I felt exposed and raw. The anxiety was building up inside me ready to burst, like a volcano.

"Not until we discuss a few things," Mr. D replied, making a Diet Coke pop into his hand. It opened itself and he took a drink.

I unintentionally pulled at my restraints and they snapped my wrist and ankles back into place, tightening around my limps ever so slightly. I caught my breath.

"I _told_ you not to struggle," our camp director grumbled. "Children, they never listen." I wanted to object to that, but held my tongue. I was in no position to be arguing with a god.

Instead I tried to keep perfectly still and keep as calm as I could… well as calm as I could be seeing as I was already half-scared out of my wits. Memories of sleepless nights, needles being shoved into my arm, screaming, crying, bruises on my wrists and ankles started to rise to the surface. More panic surged through me and I had to fight to keep a handle on things. Still, my heart was beating wildly out of control and it was all I could do to keep from having an all-out panic attack.

I'd had them before and I didn't want to have one right now.

"Wh…what did you want to… talk about?" I stuttered breathlessly.

Mr. D appraised me with surprisingly critical eyes. It wasn't that I didn't think he was critical or intelligent, but he was always pretending to not know campers' names, acting like he wanted Camp Half-Blood itself to burn to the ground, and just generally exuding an air of indifference whenever any of the campers were around him.

"Chiron has informed us of what transpired this summer," Mr. D finally said, carefully, watching my face.

"I don't understand," I told him, my hand clenching into fists. I didn't move any other muscles, afraid the vines would tighten on my wrists and ankles.

"You were involved with Lucas, were you not?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Luke," I corrected. "And yes, but I still don't see—" The vines suddenly tightened again and I let out a yelp, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. Other vines had appeared from, what looked like, underneath, wrapping up and over the edges of the mattress, onto my pillow, making their way toward me. I swallowed hard.

"If what Chiron suspects in true," Mr. D started carefully, "then we must take measures to prevent this." The vines grew closer. "Because I'm the camp director of your silly little Camp Half-Blood, my father sees it fit that I pursue any… leads, shall we say, that come from the camp. Unfortunately." He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

I scoffed, anger slowly pushing its way past my panic. "So, what? You think just because I was involved with Luke that I'm helping him?"

Mr. D considered me severely. "Aren't you?" he snapped.

The vines grew closer to me, over my arms and legs, into my hair. I accidentally shifted, trying to get away from the sensation and the vines around my wrists and ankles tightened again. I bit my lip. It was slowly morphing from mildly uncomfortable to seriously painful.

My pocket decided to grow cold at that moment.

"No," I lied, meeting Mr. D's eyes steadily. "I'm _not_." I spat through gritted teeth. I only hoped my show of anger was masking my fear well enough. Though, Mr. D was still a god. I didn't know if he'd be fooled by pathetic masquerades. I was almost going out of my mind with terror. The vines were now slowly and steadily growing over my whole body. They reminded me of roots from a tree. They weren't covering my face (yet), but they were tangled in my hair.

I'm sure grape vines woven in my hair would've actually been really pretty in any other situation. Only now I was so frightened, I didn't think I'd ever look at grape vines the same way again.

"You'd better be sure of your answers, Valerie—"

"Victoria," I corrected, despite my growing anxiety and racing heart. I'm surprised it hadn't given out.

"—because the gods _don't like being lied to_." He finished, ignoring me, articulating his words carefully. His blue eyes flashed with purple fire. The vines grew thicker and suddenly I found it harder to breath. My panic shot through the roof. The necklace in my pocket grew colder and colder as the vines grew thicker and thicker and my breath became shorter and shorter.

"Please," I begged, tears stinging my eyes again. "I can't breathe." I instinctively pulled at my restraints which tightened. I gritted my teeth and held back a cry of pain.

I couldn't stop struggling, though, and each time the vines just grew tighter and tighter until I thought for sure my bones would snap under so much pressure. Yellow spots danced across my vision there was so much pain radiating through my body. The vines pressed my chest and my breaths became smaller. My pocket felt like it was burning a hole right through my leg.

"Please," I gasped, breathless and dizzy, my eyes half-open. My voice was weak and small, because I couldn't get enough air to make it louder. I had to use the rest to provide what little oxygen I could to my blood cells. Black spots joined the yellow ones. I tried to look over at Mr. D, but my vision was becoming so fuzzy I couldn't be sure if the grey blob was him or just my imagination. "I'm not… helping… Luke…. Please…"

I had to stop talking, save air. Everything hurt and if Mr. D replied, I didn't hear him because I was consumed in head-splitting pain. All my nerves endings felt like they were on fire, but I couldn't even scream because the air was being pushed out of my lungs from the vines over my chest.

And just when I thought it was all over for me, that this was my punishment before I died and had to endure further punishment for spying on the camp and lying about the necklace, air rushed into my lungs. The crushing sensation on my wrist and ankles went away and my head spun with relief and dizzying pain as I got vital oxygen to my dying cells.

Mr. D's voice suddenly whispered in my ear, _He doesn't love you._

I shuddered and turned away from his voice. That's when I realized something was covering my face, limiting my oxygen intake. I suddenly felt claustrophobic again and tried to pry whatever it was off my face. It was soft and flexible, but my mind had flown into a panic for a second time when I felt like I couldn't breathe… again. I struggled with the thing, unable to figure out how to get it off my face. My limbs, which I could move freely, got tangled up in it.

My struggles grew bigger as my panic rose and then I was falling. It was short and I hit the floor hard on my hands and knees, that pain nothing compared to what I'd just endured. The, what I now realized were a bed sheet and a blanket, finally came off my face. I stood like that, on my hands and knees, for a long moment just shakily breathing and trying to dispel the fear, both from what had happened with Mr. D and just now.

My whole body was trembling and I felt sobs well up in my throat, but I held them back.

"Jeez, Williams, will you keep it down. People are _trying_ to sleep." a low voice hissed from above me. I struggled into a sitting position and looked up and saw Clarisse.

I did a quick scan of the room and realized I was exactly where I'd fallen asleep: in the little Greek house the campers stayed during our trip to Olympus. Not that that was any surprise.

I looked back up at Clarisse. She'd taken the top of the bunk I was in. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she was glaring at me. Her mouth was open like she was about to chew me out more, but when I looked back up at her, she paused. Her glare turned to some sort of concern—as concerned as the children of the war god could be.

"You look kind of sick. Everything all right?" she asked in a rough voice. I attributed this to the fact I'd grabbed her electric spear and also to the spear lessons I was taking from her. I'd gained some kind of friendship from her.

I swallowed hard, vaguely wondering exactly what I looked like. "I'm fine," I replied in a weak voice.

"You sure?"

"I just need some fresh air." I muttered.

"Don't blame me if you collapse in the middle of street," Clarisse muttered before disappearing from my view. I heard her mattress squeak and the sheets shift as she got comfortable.

I let out a low, slow sigh. I reached up with a shaking hand to wipe off the sweat on my forehead. When I pulled my hand back I noticed that my skin looked deathly white in the moonlight filtering into the room through the windows, even with it being olive-toned, like my mom's. I quickly dropped my hand and tried not to think about it too much.

My heart was still thumping irregularly, but not quite as fast anymore. I sat on the floor, still half tangled in sheets, leaning against the bed frame working up the energy to move. I was still fully clothed in what I'd been wearing when I'd laid down to rest after the other campers had gone to explore Olympus, so I simply needed to stand and walk out to the front door.

It was against the rules to go wandering at night, like at camp, but at least on Olympus, I didn't have to worry about being eaten by harpies. Besides, the streets would be dead, people and nymphs and satyrs asleep. The minor gods and goddesses would be off doing whatever it was they did or needed to do. The mountain would be quiet. There might be some guards, but I figured they'd be patrolling nearer where the gods held council.

Once outside—I was glad that the bronze braziers were still filled with fire to keep the cold away—I wandered up the path, toward the park where the Nine Muses played. Even though it wasn't freezing, I huddled, with my arms wrapped tightly around myself and my shoulders hunched. I walked erratically, stumbling from side of the path to the other, jumping at every flickering shadow the fire cast and every small rustle of the leaves on the trees. If I'd been on a New York street passer-bys would've labeled me drunk.

I was still shaking and I couldn't get rid of the feeling of vines covering my body, pressing down on my chest, wrapping and writhing in my hair. I shuddered and my stomach knotted at the very memory. I stopped at a brazier on the way, examining my wrists and ankles, figuring bruising or welts would show up. Of course, nothing.

I continued on to the park, found a bench sitting right next to a street lamp. It looked like it'd been taken right out of the 1940s. It wasn't on. Nonetheless, I sat down at the bench and stared out at the street, a few yards away. This far from the braziers and I was feeling the chill. I didn't think to bring a jacket with me, but I didn't care. I let the cold wash over me like runoff straight from a mountain, washing away the feeling of those horrid vines, the pain, the memories.

I gazed skyward at the beautiful, glittering stars, looking for the constellations that I knew. Despite New York's light pollution, so high up and on a magical mountain, there were billions upon billions of stars as far as the eye could see. And for a moment, everything felt all right. I felt at peace.

I could've sat there, stargazing for the rest of my life and not have minded. As it was, that wasn't what had been planned for me.

"May I join you?" a voice suddenly sounded. I jumped and looked back down to see who was there, but just as I did the lamp next to the bench blazed to life. My eyes were overwhelmed with a yellow glow and I had to hold my hand up to block it out.

"Uh, sure, fine," I stumbled over my words, not really thinking about the fact that a stranger just asked to sit next to me on a park bench in the middle of the night on Mount Olympus and I didn't even know what he looked like. My mind was too focused on trying to get my eyes to adjust again so I could _see_. I lowered my hand, squinting my eyes and blinking as they took their time adapting. I glanced over at the person who'd sat down next to me as they did this.

I had to do a double take.

My first time looking I saw a handsome, well-dressed man about my age. His hair was sandy blond and he wore a band tee with jeans and loafers. He had earbuds hanging around his neck. The chord stretched down his left side and connected to an iPod in his back pocket.

I didn't think much of this. I looked back up at the sky, only the light from the lamp was blocking my view. It was golden and so bright. Unusually bright. I had trouble looking directly at it and it radiated… warmth—I looked over at the person sitting next to me again.

When the realization hit at who it was, I gasped, jumping out of my seat, toward the lamp, but still facing him, and put a hand over my mouth. He turned his head to look at me. I couldn't tell what emotion his blue eyes held.

I lowered my hand slightly.

"Da—" I stopped myself and swallowed hard, steeling my nerves as well. "Lord Apollo," I addressed him crisply. He flinched like that was the worst thing I could ever call him. And maybe it was considering who he was to me (biologically), but I didn't care. I tentatively sat back down, putting as much space between him and me as possible.

"What brings you out here, so late?" Apollo asked casually.

"I could ask you the same thing," I responded slowly, looking around the darkened park, reminding myself his mini sun-in-a-lamp was blocking my view of the night sky. That irked me. I had really been enjoying myself. I had finally just calmed down from my encounter with Mr. D only to have my stress levels shoot up again.

Silence.

"Why are you here?" I finally asked, looking over him. "Isn't it, like… forbidden for the gods to talk to their children, or something?"

Apollo smiled dryly. "This is a… special case." he answered.

"Oh, let me guess," I exclaimed, throwing my arms up into the air. "You're here to talk to me about Luke. Well, news flash, Dionysus beat you to the punch." I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at the stone pathway.

"Yes, well, Zeus thought it'd be more… prudent if I also spoke to you about it." Apollo paused and I glanced over at him. He was looking up at the sky, drumming his fingers against his knee. "Under less stressful conditions."

I shifted on the bench uncomfortably, tightening my crossed arms and turning to glare at the road again. Of course he knew, how could he not? I tried not to shudder as the sensation of vines crawling all over me like snakes rose to the surface of my memory.

"My answer isn't going to change," I said in a quiet voice. "Luke didn't tell me anything. I'm not helping him. End of story." The necklace in my pocket started to burn again and I regretted taking it. It was so stupid to have taken here anyway. Could they sense magic items? They were gods, they should've been able to, yet Mr. D hadn't pushed for it. He hadn't mentioned it. And no one had stopped me on my way up to the mountain to check my pockets. So I couldn't understand… if they knew about it, why not call me out on it?

Apollo's eyes rested upon my face, but I refused to look at him. I could feel them burning a hole into my cheek, but I didn't _want_ to look at him. In fact, I wanted to get up and leave. I would've, too, if he hadn't been a god. Being disrespectful felt like a good way to give them permission to smite you.

"He… also thought," Apollo started in a soft voice, almost scared, which caught my attention, "that because I'm your father—"

My head snapped over to him. "So you do admit," I spat. His blue eyes met my acidic gaze evenly, sadly.

"You have your mother's eyes," he commented.

I turned away and blinked the tears from my eyes. My arms came uncrossed and I shifted in my seat again, itching to get up and sprint all the way to the elevator that would take me back to the mortal realm.

"Don't… talk about her," I told him, wanting my voice to sound angry, but sounding hurt and on the verge of tears instead. "You don't have any right… to talk about her."

"I loved your mother, very much, Tori," Apollo told me in a low voice. "Don't tell me I'm not allowed to talk about her."

"She _screamed_ your name when that hellhound attacked," I choked out, turning to face him again. "She cried for your help and you didn't do… _anything_."

Apollo turned away. His mouth was set in a deep frown, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes glittered with anguish.

"I know," he said in an almost ragged voice. "I know,"—he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists—"and it took all I could… not to help."

I was stunned for a moment at his words. The tears that had been threatening to spill over finally did. I wanted to look away from him, but I found I couldn't.

"Why didn't you?" I had wanted to yell that at him this time, but my voice betrayed me, coming out in a whisper.

"Because it is not something under my control," Apollo answered in a stronger voice, opening his eyes and unclenching his fists. He turned to look at me again. His blue eyes had hardened. "It is the Fates who control who lives and who dies. Even gods must abide by their say."

"That's not good enough," I whispered shaking my head and turning away from him as more tears streamed down my face. My breathed whooshed from my lungs and I sat there, grasping the bench's arm rest, my other hand fisted, resting on my leg. Sobs tried to make their way out of my throat, but I swallowed them. The tears continued, there was no stopping those.

"So, then, why haven't you claimed me?" I asked. More silence. I looked over at Apollo when he didn't answer. He was looking nervously around like someone or something was going to pop out of the bushes and attack us.

"Tori, let's not talk about this right now—"

"No," I interrupted him in a cold, yet tearful voice "You came to me, remember. You wanted to talk. Let's talk."

He glared at me, the light above in the lamp grew brighter and hotter. I didn't break eye contact. Finally, he looked away. The light dimmed. He was drumming his fingers on his knee again.

"Because I was scared," Apollo finally answered in a quiet voice. I almost didn't catch it.

"_Scared_?" I whispered incredulously. I straightened up, my tears drying up, anger and resentment rushing through me. "You were _scared_?"

Apollo's head snapped back to me. The lamp light grew brighter again.

"Yes," he hissed. "I was afraid that that would only make you hate me more. After what happened to your mother, I thought that claiming you would be insult to injury, salt in the open wounds. I didn't want you to hate me any more than you already did, so I didn't claim you."

"You claimed Dan!" I exclaimed, still not quite understanding. I was more hurt than angry, which made me angry, because for there to be hurt there had to be love first. I didn't think I loved Apollo. He was my biological father. That was it. (Boy, was I wrong about that observation.)

Apollo looked away. "Only because he was gone when your mother died. He didn't have to see or live through what you did."

I wanted to say something, anything, but the words weren't forming in my head. I couldn't think of what to say to that. I still wasn't sure if I fully understood his decision.

After what happened, Dan was, obviously, notified. He visited me in the hospital, both in the ICU and the mental ward (I hadn't the heart to tell him what had happened just yet, lest they keep me in the mental ward longer), from the foster home they'd put him in. I had a foster home already picked out when I was ready. Thankfully, Chiron found us before I had to endure that after enduring being strapped down like an animal.

I knew that wasn't standard, but I guess he either heard about what happened and wanted to come personally, or a satyr found us, heard what happened and told Chiron who then thought it would be best if he went personally. The latter made more sense. Either way, Chiron was the one who introduced me and Dan into our new demigod lives.

When we arrived at Camp Half-Blood I'd sat Dan down and told him everything, including the fact that she'd called for Apollo's help. I didn't want to lie to him and I wanted to give him all the facts so that he could make the decision with all the information and on his own terms.

"But I told him what happened," I finally said. "And you still claimed him."

Apollo half-sighed and half-groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Hearing about what happened and experiencing it are two different things. He wasn't nearly as… angry as you were." He paused and looked over at me with careful eyes. "As you still are."

I shifted in my seat again, facing front. I wasn't sure if knowing why he hadn't claimed me was worth it anymore.

"Would you like me to claim you when you get back to camp?" Apollo asked in a carefully crafted monotone voice.

I pursed my lips and thought about this offer before saying, "Wouldn't make a difference."

"We need to talk about Luke." Apollo said, closing the chasm that'd begun to yawn between us.

I sighed and sagged, annoyance spiking higher in my cocktail of emotions. "I _told_ you already—"

"He doesn't love you," he interrupted. I turned my head to look at him. He was looking at the street. Mr. D's last words to me ran through my head, the exact same thing: _He doesn't love you._

"What?" I asked carefully. He looked at me, his eyes had hardened again.

"He's using you," Apollo continued. "He only said he loved you so you'd keep his secret. He _doesn't_ care about you."

"What secret?" I asked.

Apollo gave me a look, calling me out, but he said nothing about it. The necklace in my pocket grew cold, yet again.

"Do you know where he is? How he's going to raise the titan lord? Why he even began this quest in the first place?" he questioned instead.

"Well, no, to… all of those, but—"

"And there's a reason for that," he interrupted again. "You're just a pawn to him. Don't let him use you like this." His eyes softened. I tried not to snort. Like he actually cared about what happened to me.

"He's _not_ using me!" I yelled indignantly instead. My emotions stopped swirling and two took center stage: Anger. And doubt. It'd been in my voice, when I'd snapped at Apollo. Those questions Apollo had asked… I didn't know the answers. If Luke _did_ love me, wouldn't he have trusted me enough to tell them to me _before_ he left? But… he did promise he'd tell me later, right?

Apollo simply gave me another look before standing. "It's getting late, you should get some rest." The lamp started to glow in time with Apollo's body. I covered my eyes, feeling the heat from the lamp intensify. I thought for sure if I didn't burn up from looking at Apollo in his true godly form, then his mini sun would do it for him, but the heat started to fade and when I peeked out from between my fingers, the night was still and dark again.

The lamp had gone out and Apollo was gone.

I looked up at the sky. I could see the stars.

* * *

><p><strong>Another long chapter for you. I hope you enjoyed!<strong>

**Title is taken from "All of the Stars" by Ed Sheeran.**

**Oh, and I finished **_**The Blood of Olympus**_** two days ago. I'm already nostalgic. I liked the ending, despite how much I want to read about the reunion of Leo and his friends, and Apollo's punishment. It was... bittersweet.  
><strong>

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	10. Ten

Dream, Send Me a Sign

I was cold and I really should've gone back to that little house and slept, but I wanted to think. I didn't want to think with other sleeping people around me.

I had two states of thinking. One was I paced while I thought, because my ADHD would kick into overdrive and I'd need to move or go crazy just sitting, trying to keep still. The other one was the complete opposite, where my ADHD seemed to disappear altogether or go on a short holiday, and I'd sit and stare at something, still as a statue while my mind raced.

There was no in between.

Right now was a pacing kind of night. I would've loved to continue to star gaze as I thought about what Apollo had told me, but my body was itching to move. That may have also been because without the heat from the lamp, my body felt too cold. I'd been doing okay before, but comparing the warm lamp and the cold night air, away from the braziers, there was a huge temperature difference. Now I was shivering.

So I paced back and forth in the semi-darkness, in front of the bench, thinking.

I locked away our conversation about my mother and my brother. It was too overwhelming to think about right at this moment, too personal. I needed time to build my walls back up again before I addressed those. Right now I felt too exposed, too vulnerable.

I could feel the tear stains on my cheeks, my eyes and nose were no doubt red. My nose was completely stuffed with mucus forcing me to breathe through my mouth. My hair was tangled from thrashing in my bed and my messing with it too much.

One thing was for sure, I wasn't going to be winning any beauty pageants any time soon.

Instead, I thought about the very last thing Apollo had sprung on me right before leaving. The last thing Mr. D had said to me, too.

Luke didn't love me. Luke was using me to spy on the camp.

I just couldn't believe this. My hand went up to touch my lips as I remembered our first kiss, the warmth of his body against mine, the gentleness of his hands cupping my face. I bit my lip and hugged myself even tighter. The cold seemed to have gotten colder.

It couldn't be true. He did love me. He _did._ Didn't he…?

I froze.

But two gods, _two_, had told me he didn't. One of them my own father, also the god of prophecies, had told me he didn't, that he was just using me.

I continued pacing.

Could they really be trusted? How was I supposed to know they weren't just saying that because they knew I was still helping Luke in some way and wanted to make sure I never helped him again? Or flush out whatever they thought I was hiding, catching me red-handed? Then again, if they knew I _was_ helping him, why do this at all? Why not just punish me and be done with it?

I let out a harsh, quiet laugh. Maybe this _was_ their punishment, making me re-live two of my most horrid memories to make my walls crumble before planting the seed of doubt.

They'd done a good job, because the doubt was growing, but instead of something new and vibrant, it was the exact opposite. It was a hole, right in my heart. I wanted to believe, so badly, that Luke did love me. That he wasn't just using me to get what he wanted. But at the same time… _two _gods. That had to mean something, didn't it? They'd even said the exact same thing!

And it wasn't like Kronos didn't have the power to convince people to trick other people, either. He wasn't nicknamed The Crooked One for nothing. If he could use demigods as pawns, who's to say he couldn't get those demigods to use other demigods as pawns. It'd not only make his little puppet feel in control, but it'd also help him accomplish his goals swiftly. Which meant there was a possibility Kronos convinced Luke to act like he loved me….

I gave up pacing with a defeated groan, and sat back down on the bench, throwing my head in my hands. I felt like sobbing again. I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes.

"That just won't do," a woman's voice came from my right. I sucked in a sharp breath and sat up straight, instantly turning to see who was there. And I could actually see her because the lamp behind me had been lit again. Though the light was much softer and didn't give off heat.

My throat closed, the tears that had formed streamed down my face when I blinked. The woman sitting next to me looked like my mother for a scary moment with the straight, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and olive-toned skin. That moment passed too soon, but not soon enough, and then I was looking at my mom's favorite female singer, then my favorite female singer. And all these versions looked like they'd just come off the runway, or like they'd stepped right out of the cover of a magazine, air-brushed and perfect. My tears quickly stopped, confusion taking its place.

When I managed to tear my eyes away from her face, I noticed she was wearing a gorgeous crimson, silk dress. I wanted to tell her she was going to ruin that dress walking through this park and sitting on this bench, but then I remembered she'd said something to catch my attention in the first place.

My eyebrows furrowed and I tried to concentrate. "I'm sorry?" I asked.

The woman's beautifully plucked eyebrows puckered. "You look awful, honey." she told me straight up.

Now, I wasn't one to care much about appearances, not after being so badly scarred and also growing up at a camp where you were out in the woods all day, fighting, getting sweaty, wearing bulky armor, etc. However, when she told me this, I suddenly didn't want to show my face to her. I felt so inferior I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me just so she wouldn't have to see how awful I looked.

It finally dawned on me who this was and why I suddenly cared about what I looked like.

_Three_ gods in one night? That had to be some kind of record. Or a bad omen.

"Lady Aphrodite," I greeted politely. She smiled. So lovely. I blinked and mentally shook myself.

"I can fix that for you," she said before flicking her finger at me. I felt something pull through my hair, in a gentle soothing way—it reminded me of when my mom would brush my hair when I was little, before I went to bed or to calm me down—all at once as the puffiness of my eyes went away and my stuffed nose became instantly clear. A compact mirror appeared in Aphrodite's hand and she held it out for me. I reluctantly took it and examined myself.

My hair had been combed through, no more knots, no more rat's nest. It even looked… shinier. I ran my fingers through it, silkier, softer. My eyes were no longer red, puffy or blood-shot, and my nose wasn't red, either. My smudged and tear-stained face had been cleaned. My skin seemed to glow, though that could've just been the lamp light.

I closed the mirror and handed it back to her.

"Thank you," I managed to stutter out. She smiled again, stunning me for a moment. I severely hoped every demigod, male or female, she talked to, reacted to her like this, that way I didn't have to feel like a complete fool.

"It was really no problem at all," she said, making the mirror disappear into thin air. Her nails were long, perfect and painted the same red as her dress. Her lipstick was a shade darker.

"Um… no offense, but why are you talking to me?" I finally asked, trying to look at her but not get caught up with how gorgeous she looked.

Aphrodite laughed. Gods, it was so musical. I blinked again and snapped myself out of it.

"I've been keeping an eye on you, Miss Victoria Williams," she answered with a secretive smile. "I've taken personal interest in your little love story with our favorite traitor, Luke Castellan." Her ever-changing eyes turned almost rueful.

"You've what?" I asked despite how dry my mouth felt. My heart thumped oddly in my chest.

"Oh, it just warms my heart," she exclaimed, taking a deep breath and putting both hands on her chest where her heart was before bringing them back into her lap. "Good and evil, falling in love!"

Being as coherent has I was, I asked, "Um… what?"

"Don't you listen to Dionysus or your father, dear," Aphrodite went on. "They're just saying things—nonsense things!—to rattle you. Luke most certainly loves you. And I can tell, you really love him, don't you?" She smiled. I blushed. But her smile suddenly changed to a small pout as her eyebrows puckered again. "Oh, but they've already gotten into your head haven't they?" I looked away, down at the ground. "What pests." She sounded annoyed. "But that's why I'm here, to reassure you, darling."

I looked back up at her, trying not to feel too hopeful. Then again, Aphrodite _was_ the goddess of love, if she was telling me that Luke _did_ actually love me….

"I don't understand," I told her truthfully, focusing on a different part of the conversation. "Luke is trying to stop _you_—all of the Olympians by raising the titan lord."

"Yes?" she asked in a tone that said, _What's your point?_

"Well… I mean, that's kind of bad for you, isn't it?"

"Yes, it would be, if you were helping him. But you're not. You've said so yourself, haven't you?" One of her eyebrows arched while one side of her lips quirked up in a half-smirk.

"Yes," I answered too quickly. "I mean, no." I blinked hard. "I mean, yes, I've said so myself. No, I'm not helping him." My voice cracked and I looked away from Aphrodite.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked gently. I slowly lifted my eyes to look at her again. Her own eyes seemed to draw an answer from me that I wouldn't have told anyone else about.

"I want to save him," I said softly.

Aphrodite grinned, looking absolutely elated at my answer.

"Oh," she exclaimed like she'd been holding her breath. "It's so romantic! I do so love a good tragic love story."

My mood plummeted lower than it had already been and my confidence about my plans went with it.

Tragic?

"It reminds me of _Romeo and Juliet_," the love goddess continued.

"They both die in the end," I protested.

"Oh, I know!" she exclaimed. "It's it wonderful?" My stomach dropped alongside my mood and my confidence.

"Not from where I stand," I told her truthfully.

"Don't fret, my dear, too much about what my brothers have told you," Aphrodite said, ignoring my quip. "I assure you, Luke loves you very much." She paused. "More than I think he realizes, even." She was looking out the corners of her eyes but they were distant, like she was having a vision or watching something play out in her head. A small smile formed on her lips.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" I questioned, exasperated, bringing her attention back to me. I was starting to feel the cold and exhaustion seep into my bones. Even her aura that made me feel inferior to her beauty seemed to no longer affect me. Or I was too tired to care anymore.

Aphrodite stood. "Your father was right about one thing, however, you should rest now." I should've expected her to ignore my question.

I thought for sure she was going to snap her fingers and I'd end up back in my bunk, half-asleep. Instead she shimmered and disappeared, leaving behind the scent of a perfume that reminded me of my mom.

I blinked out of my daze and looked around. The park was quiet and dark once again, the lamp having gone out after Aphrodite left. I sat there for a moment thinking about all that'd happened to me in the past few hours. Then I jumped from my seat and sprinted all the way back to the small Greek house afraid another god might decide to have a little chat with me.

I wouldn't put it past Hermes to come visit, seeing how he was Luke's father. And apparently Aphrodite was keeping an eye on me and Luke. I wondered if gods gossiped then immediately banished that thought from my mind as soon as it had formed. Too mortifying to think about. Meeting your boyfriend's or girlfriend's parents was awkward and uncomfortable enough. Having one of them be a god, well that was down-right terrifying.

Oh, but I'm sure we demigods were oh-so entertaining for them to watch, and meddle with if they felt up to it.

I was panting when I got back, but reigned them in before I stepped inside. Without hesitation, I slipped back onto my bunk, pulling the sheets from the floor, where I'd left them, and over me, up to my neck.

I dreamt more, as all demigods did. Thankfully, it didn't involve mental hospitals, grape vines, or a certain wine god. This time.

* * *

><p>I still hadn't been claimed.<p>

It'd been a few days since our trip to Mount Olympus. I'd thrown myself into my activities to keep my mind off of what had happened during that trip. The feeling of those creepy-crawling vines still dominated my memories. I found myself avoiding the strawberry fields, Mr. D, and flinching whenever anything brushed against my skin.

Exactly four days passed before the words of all three gods finally got to me so much so I couldn't sleep at all. When I could, my dreams were filled with a rocking feeling like I was out at sea, the sounds of many monsters, and always ended with grape vines trying to strangle me while both Mr. D's and Apollo's voices kept telling me Luke didn't love me. I didn't understand what the first two meant, but one thing was certain, I _needed_ to speak to Luke. Immediately.

I went down the beach in the middle of the night. I sat down on the sand far enough away from the water that I wouldn't get wet and pulled the necklace out of my pocket. I still couldn't get myself to actually wear it.

Grasping the charm in my hand and trying not to be self-conscious, because there weren't any other people around, I spoke.

"Luke," I asked, letting the charm rest in my palm as I stared at it. I pulled my legs against my chest and bit my lip. "Luke, if you can't hear me, please… answer." I felt absolutely stupid when nothing happened. Just the sound of the waves as they gently crashed against the shore and the light sea breeze, blowing loose strands of my hair around.

"Luke," I tried one more time, closing my eyes, letting the charm slip from my palm and gripping the chain. "Please. Just… let me hear your voice. We don't need to have a whole conversation. I mean, I'd _like_ to, but—" I broke off and sighed sharply. This was ridiculous.

Anger swelled up inside me. My eyes snapped open to stare at the dangling scythe before throwing the necklace off to my side, not caring where it ended up, if it got buried in the sand, if the tide came in and washed it away.

Maybe Apollo and Mr. D were right. Maybe… maybe he didn't really care about me. Maybe he had been lying to me so I'd do this for him. Was our whole friendship just a big lie, then?

But then there was Aphrodite. She'd told me Luke _did_ love me. One goddess against two gods, but she was the goddess of _love_. I should take her word seriously. Still….

Folding my arms over my knees and resting my chin on my arms, I stared out across the Sound. I felt guilty just doubting Luke. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that, though one had basically tortured me and I hated the other with a deep passion, Mr. D and Apollo had a point—

Someone put a hand on my left shoulder. My own hand instinctively grabbed the person's wrist as I spun and stood up, my free hand shooting out to grab my attacker's neck. Only, they knew this was coming and grabbed my hand before I could get to their neck. He'd learned from his previous experience, then.

In his other hand, the hand that was connected to the wrist I was grasping tightly, he held the chain to my necklace. The scythe charm hung from it.

"Luke," I greeted, letting go of his wrist. His other hand kept mine, lacing our fingers together. He smiled softly. "You came." I stated, confusion swept over me, dousing my anger for now, when something occurred to me. How had he even gotten here?

"Of course," he said. "You, um… you called." He held up the necklace.

At this point, all my worries and fears flooded through my head. Unwanted tears flooded my eyes. I took a deep breath and blinked rapidly, turning away from him.

"I didn't realize—" I broke off. I wasn't really quite sure what I was going to say. "How did you get here?" My voice wavered as I turned back to face him.

"You're upset," Luke noticed, ignoring my question.

I unconsciously brought my arms up to hug myself and turned away from him again. "It's why I called." I admitted quietly. There was no reason to avoid it. I wanted answers, after all. This was just going to be a painful conversation.

"Listen," Luke started in a quiet voice, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder and turning me toward him. "I can't stay long"—as he was saying this, he put the necklace on me; his hands brushing the sides of my neck, making my heart race and tingles shoot down my spine—"so we have to make this quick."

Tears stung my eyes once again and my bottom lip quivered. I tried to turn away, but Luke didn't miss this and pulled me back to face him.

"Tori, Tori, it's all right," Luke assured quietly, cradling my face with both his hands. "Listen, I'm sorry I kept so many things from you, I didn't want you to be punished." His hands moved from my face to my shoulders. "I knew the gods would question you, but now that that's over you won't be questioned again. I would explain _everything_ if I had time, but I don't. And I need you here, so I can keep tabs on the camp—"

"It's not…" I interrupted. They _had_ questioned me. I felt like I'd been punished anyway. I ignored these thoughts and continued. "It's not that. Not… not exactly. I am angry at you for keeping this from me for so long. And that you won't tell me where you are—"

"Then what's gotten you so upset?" he asked, his eyes full of questions, concern. He must care, certainly if he was worried about me, right?

Nevertheless, I asked, "Do you love me?" a tear squeezing its way out of the corner of my eye.

Luke reached up to wipe it away with his thumb, while stroking my cheek, but looking confused at my question. "You should know the answer, Tori. Why would you ask something like that?"

I slapped his hands away and stepped back.

"Yes or no, Luke. Do you love me?" I snapped, my voice stronger than before.

Luke followed me, taking a step forward. "Of course, yes, I love you, Tori. Why are you asking me this?" His voice had also gotten stronger, a little louder.

More tears formed in my eyes and I felt the guilt build inside me. I hated questioning him, but I was so unsure, so insecure.

"Well, you were right, the gods did question me," I mumbled, looking down at the sand. "They also…" I took a deep breath. "They also told me some… things. About… you." I continued averting my gaze but stopped there, knowing he would figure out what I meant and not wanting to see his face when he did. But he didn't say anything. It was quiet for so long I had to look up again. His eyes were hurt, betrayed. And angry. "Say something," I begged.

"So, what?" Luke spat. "After all we've been through, a few words from the gods and you suddenly don't _trust_ me anymore? Is that it? Does my word mean so little to you, you don't believe what I say—"

"That's not it!" I gasped "You don't understand, I'm just confused, Luke. I'm _so_ confused. You didn't tell me _anything_. Not about the bolt or the helm, not about your plan to kill Percy, not about where you are or what you're doing while gone. Not why you need me to spy on the camp! And they… they wore me down." I looked away, one of my hands grasping my other wrist. My stomach rolled at the memory of the vines encasing my body. My chest tightened from the memory of being unable to breathe.

I took a deep breath to remind myself I _could_ breathe. Pressing the memories back as best I could because I wasn't finished speaking yet. I looked back up at Luke. "Do _you_ not trust me enough to tell me what you were doing? That you were working with a titan? That you were having dreams? When did they start? When did you start hating the gods so much? Why didn't you _tell_ me about… any of this? I thought you knew you could come to me for anything."

"I told you," Luke said gently, taking another step closer to me, putting his hands on my upper forearms, all his anger gone. "I was doing it to protect you. I knew that because of our past and the fact that my betrayal was going to become public at some point, the gods would go after any leads to get to me. I wanted to make sure you'd be safe. If you didn't know about any of this, you couldn't be punished. Even the gods know punishing you for something you didn't even know about is wrong." He sneered the last line.

His face softened. "I promise, _promise_, to tell you everything as soon as I find another spy. No more secrets."

I reached up to wipe away some stray tears.

"Thank you," I finally said quietly.

"You don't need to thank me," Luke responded, caressing my face, while pulling me closer to him with his other hand. He held my gaze, solemnly. "I'm telling you that they were lying. They're just trying to get you help them, because they don't want to admit their mistakes. I'm telling you that I love you."

I couldn't help the smile that pulled at the edges of my lips. "I love you, too." I told him before stretching up on my tip-toes to press my lips to his.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I don't think it's the best I've ever written, but I've hit this weird place where I think anything I write is terrible, so…. Also, I wanted to get this chapter to you on time. I'd written most of this chapter already, it just doesn't feel like my best.<strong>

**Title is a lyric taken from the song "Brand New Day" by Ryan Star.**

**Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoyed.**

**To FadedSunset: Well, looks like Apollo didn't claim her in this chapter… who knows with the chapters to come? ;) And, yes, I was super excited and just **_**devoured**_** BoO. I don't think I've ever read something so quickly like that before. I'm hoping that he'll do a crossover like he did with the Annabeth and Sadie, with the new Norse gods. But I think your right, I think that he's pretty much done with Percy and the Greek and Roman gods. One can always hope, though. ;)**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	11. Eleven

Can't Wake Up

As I said before all demigods dreampt. It came with the territory, being half-god and all. And though the gods' voices finally left my dreams, I couldn't escape the ending and I couldn't escape the vines. I woke up gasping for air and trembling. I'd shake out my hair, because the feelings of those writhing vines still lingered.

This led to my decision to shear off most of my hair to a short pixie haircut. It was uneven and looked horribly lopsided, but I hadn't really been paying attention when I'd started cutting. All I knew was I didn't want my hair so long anymore. I didn't want that feeling of wriggling things in it anymore. It probably didn't help that I'd used a pocketknife to cut it, too.

I'd borrowed one from one of the kids in the Hermes cabin, gone into the bathroom, locked the door, grabbed a handful of my hair and sliced at it with the knife. After, I cleaned up my mess, exited the bathroom, handed the knife back to its owner and then stalked out to go practice archery. The whole cabin had gone silent when I came out—which is hard to do; I don't know why they cared about my hair so much—but no one commented or mentioned it.

I knew it looked bad, but it wasn't like we had a hair salon close by. Besides, that was even if I was allowed to leave the camp grounds. I hadn't known the Aphrodite cabin functioned as a salon and/or beauty parlor (though I shouldn't have been surprised) until they ambushed me during cabin inspections.

With Luke gone and me still unclaimed, I'd been bumped up to head of the Hermes cabin. I tried to give it to the Stoll brothers (they weren't twins, but they sure looked it), but Chiron—and, so I heard, Mr. D—insisted that I be the head counselor. I think Chiron was nervous about how well they'd handle the responsibility. Having lived with them for nearly six years, I honestly didn't think they'd be _that_ bad. And they were actually sons of Hermes. (Chiron wasn't hearing any of it.)

Anyway, as I was saying, I was doing the cabin inspections. I stepped inside the Aphrodite cabin, past some of the sons and daughters whispering and giving me looks. I ignored them and looked around the cabin. Perfect as ever. Despite the overdone perfume smell, I gave them a five and was about to leave when someone grabbed my wrist.

I flinched and tried to force myself not to pull away as I looked to see Silena, smiling at me. She was the head counselor for Cabin Ten and the sweetest child of Aphrodite I'd met to date. She had a slim build, with a surprisingly strong grip, with dark, heavy hair that always seemed perfect, despite having just come from pegasus riding, and startling blue eyes.

"Hi," she said, still holding my wrist.

"Uh… did you need something?" I asked, trying to nonchalantly pull my wrist from her grasp. She didn't lesson her grip.

"Actually, kind of, it'll only take a moment. Follow me." She pulled on my wrist, turning me 180 degrees. Suddenly another one of her siblings, Brandon I believe his name was, was at my other side, cupping his hand around my elbow.

"Where are we going?" I stuttered as they pushed me toward what looked like their bathroom, so the question was suddenly unnecessary. Neither of them spoke as they ushered me in before closing the door.

Their bathroom was like their cabin: clean and perfect. The floor was a tile that was ever-so-slightly tinged pink. The walls were blindingly white. There was a small chair facing a huge vanity that was across part of the back wall with four sinks. To the left were the shower stalls and cubbies the held toiletries. To the right was another mirror, only this mirror covered the whole wall. It was an impressive set-up. Especially when you compared it to the bathroom in the Hermes cabin.

Silena and Brandon stood me in front of the chair before Brandon pushed me down into it as Silena grabbed the grading scroll and pen from my hands. I tried to object and started standing up, but Silena put a hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me back into the seat.

"I promise we'll be quick. We're just going to touch up your… haircut," she said haircut so distastefully I subconsciously reached up to pull at some strands of my hair, wondering if it really looked as bad as I knew it did… or worse.

Silena then went over to the vanity to set the scroll and pen down and gather supplies, I guessed. I quickly dropped my hand, hoping neither of them had seen.

"Look," I started, "it's not that I don't appreciate it and all, but you really don't need to do this." I started to get up again but Brandon pushed me back down. "Besides I have the rest of the cabins to check—" I broke off when Brandon started wrapping something thin and papery around my neck. The sensation was uncomfortable but also made me want to laugh. Worst of all, it reminded me of those vines. I grasped for it, my hand a claw, but Silena hurriedly grabbed my wrist again.

"We insist," she said gently with a smile to match. "Won't take more than five minutes."

"Besides, you need it," Brandon commented finishing tying paper around my neck. Both Silena and I glared at him, though she was facing him, I was glaring at him through the mirror. He shrugged. "It's true. Everyone in this cabin winces when you walk by. It's bothersome."

"Glad to know you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart," I muttered as Silena finally let go of my wrist and went back to the vanity. I shifted in my seat, swallowing hard, telling myself over and over again it wasn't a vine. I could still breathe. It was just a piece of tissue paper. Just a piece of tissue paper….

Brandon threw a black drape to catch hair over the upper half of my body and snapped the collar into place. I tried not to squirm. Underneath the plastic, I balled my hands into fists so tight, my nails dug into my palms, and tried to breathe deeply—just a piece of tissue paper.

I was only staying at this point because I liked Silena. If she was in charge of this whole silly operation then I trusted her. Besides, I hadn't been blind to the stares and whispers from the people around camp. I knew my haircut was crude and looked like someone had taken a weed whacker to my head, but like I said before, there wasn't much I could do. I wasn't a hairstylist, and doing your own hair was hard enough.

Silena had been right about the time, it took three minutes and forty-three seconds (I counted) and they were done. My hair did look admittedly _much_ better than before.

I thanked them as graciously as I could before booking it out of there to go finish inspections. I could practically feel the sigh of relief from Cabin Ten now that _that_ bad hair day crisis had been fixed. I let out my own sigh, glad to be out of there. I didn't know if I trusted going in there anymore for cabin inspections.

* * *

><p>The months passed, camp went on as usual. Though Luke had put the necklace around my neck the night we'd talked on the beach, I continued to put it in my pocket. It was easier that way. I didn't have to worry as much about losing it or anyone finding it, either.<p>

We had no more contact.

My dreams remained the same—the rocking feeling, the monsters—but grew more vivid with each passing week. They became more disturbing as we headed closer to June, the time when the summer part of this summer camp started. I still couldn't make much out. I finally figured out that the rocking sensation was indeed because I was out at sea. And instead of just rocking, I also heard waves lapping against something solid, most likely a boat.

The monsters… I couldn't figure out as much. They seemed to just appear in my dreams, all the monsters I'd learned about during my time here: _dracaena_, _empousai_, hellhounds, Colchis bulls, gryphons, I think a sphinx even appeared once. Sometimes the backdrop would be what seemed to be endless hallways that I was running through to get away from the monsters, with the carpets ruined by years of wear and tear, though the walls looked new. Sometimes it was at Camp Half-Blood, and I'd be running through the forest, weaponless, trying to escape a monster.

My worst nights were when the hellhounds appeared in my dreams.

At first it was just the monsters, but each week the background would become clearer and clearer (the hallways and camp). I'd see more, hear more, smell more, even. But it didn't tell me much. I wasn't sure what any of it meant, the monsters in the maze, or at camp.

One good thing that came out of this: I learned how to avoid my dreams ending with being strapped to a bed by vines.

Still, the images worried me. Especially the ones in camp, because we didn't usually store those kinds of monsters in the woods. Not only that, but they felt different than the ones in the woods. The ones there only got past our border because they'd been summoned, allowed. The monsters in my dreams, they'd somehow surpassed the magic border.

That was an even more frightening thought. Were they getting stronger or was the border growing weaker?

I wanted to tell someone about these dreams, maybe Chiron, but I was also unsure. It wasn't that I thought he wouldn't believe me, it was more along the lines of, if I told him and it was true, I'd be blamed for it happening. Worse, I would be accused of summoning the monsters. Kind of like how just being so closely involved with Luke made me suspect #1 on Olympus after his disappearance.

I was pretty sure Annabeth hadn't gotten the same treatment on our field trip, but maybe romantic relations was different than familial or friendly relations.

Either way, I was wary about telling Chiron. It's not like I could tell him much anyway. They couldn't really be prophetic dreams. I was just running from monsters. If I described that to him, surely he'd pass it off as simple nightmares. I wasn't sure if half-bloods had "normal" nightmares, but if they didn't, I was the exception and Chiron knew this. He wasn't just the one who'd picked Dan and I up to go to camp, he also coached me through my panic attacks and the anxiety I'd developed because of what happened to my mom. He knew I had "normal" nightmares.

Then I had a dream about Luke.

I didn't know it at first. I was standing in middle of a large, stately room. Next to me was a coffee table. To the left and right of the coffee table were two sofas. In one corner of the room was a kind-sized canopied bed. In the other corner stood a mahogany dining table covered with platters of desserts, a full cake, tiered dessert trays filled with bite-sized cakes and chocolates, ice cream that didn't seem to melt, a chocolate fountain with fruit and sponge cake for dipping, bananas. The floor was covered with a Persian rug. The lighting was imbedded into the ceiling and gave off a soft, warm glow.

Despite my surroundings, a chill ran down my spine. I spun around and was faced with a ten-foot-long golden casket, sitting on a velvet dais. Engraved on it were Ancient Greek scenes of death and destruction. If I looked too long, focused too closely I could hear the flames crackling as they burned down cities, hear cries of agony from fallen heroes. My breath caught and I looked away, over the casket and out one of the many arched windows that curved across the back wall.

It was dark outside, but I could make out what looked like the stern of a ship. From there, it was a stretch of dark water and dark sky. The water reflected back the sky so well, I almost couldn't tell where the ocean stopped and the sky began.

The sound of doors opening grabbed my attention and I spun around again to see Luke step through the double oak doors leading into this room. He had changed since the last time I saw him, or maybe I hadn't been paying attention the last time, but either way he wasn't dressed in his normal garb. His camp tee had been replaced with a button down. His shorts were now khakis. And his sandals were now leather loafers. His hair had been trimmed and groomed, his bangs sweeping over to one side.

He was followed in by an _empousa_. She would've been really pretty in her midnight blue, sleeveless evening dress if her skin wasn't chalk white and she didn't have red eyes. Her flaming hair didn't really match the color of her dress and she walked awkwardly because of one of her legs being that of a donkey, the other leg being made of bronze.

They made their way to where I was standing and though it was a dream, I quickly moved out of the way, standing behind the sofa opposite of the sofa they took a seat in. The _empousa_ sat way too close to Luke for my comfort. I also noticed she had something in her hand.

Luke didn't look pleased, but I wasn't sure if it was because of this monster's closeness or because of something else. His face was set in a deep scowl, highlighting his scar, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes conflicted.

"I can't do it," Luke finally said, glaring at the coffee table.

"Oh, Luke—" the _empousa_ started.

"I _can't do it_, Kelli," he repeated, looking over at Kelli, I guess, meeting her sinister red eyes evenly.

"Can't?" she asked her voice just as cold as Luke's eyes. "Or won't?"

Luke looked back at the coffee table. "She's my friend. I can't do this to her." His voice was ragged. I wondered who they were talking about. He said friend… maybe Annabeth?

"_Was_ your friend, now she's a tree," Kelli corrected. Oh, Thalia. Why were they talking about Thalia? "Zeus turned her into a tree, remember?"

Luke's hands fisted, his jaw tightened, and I thought for sure he was going to pull a Celestial bronze weapon from somewhere and dust this monster, but he restrained himself.

"I know," he said darkly. "I was there."

Kelli smiled like she enjoyed seeing his anger. Suddenly, her image flickered, or that could've been my imagination. Her skin went from chalky white to a beautiful coffee color. Her hair stopped flaming and became brown and curly. Her eyes no longer glowed red. She looked gorgeous. But as she scooted just a little bit closer to Luke, her image flickered again and she was back to the usual _empousa_ look.

Putting an arm across the back of the sofa, she leaned toward Luke, to whisper something in his ear.

It shouldn't have, but the little green monster reared its ugly head. Her body language clearly said flirty. I could tell she liked Luke and it made me frustratingly jealous that she was so pretty when controlling the Mist. I knew Luke loved me and he'd never go for her, especially because she was a monster underneath the Mist, but I couldn't control my emotions.

As Kelli continued to whisper in his ear, Luke's face cleared. His eyes glazed over, almost became dreamy. I wanted to say something, to stop the charmspeak that she was probably doing to him, but I wasn't really in this room. I had no power here.

Movement caught my eye and I looked at Kelli's hand to see her coax open Luke's fist and slip a small vial full of an odd green substance into his hand.

Kelli pulled away, smiling wickedly. Luke's face cleared, but he looked shaken, his eyes were stricken. I wanted so badly to go over to him and comfort him, but I couldn't and it broke my heart.

He took a deep, shaking breath and let out it.

"Okay," he whispered. "I'll do it."

The _empousa_ gripped his shoulder. "Have a little more faith here, Luke. You wouldn't want to insult the titan lord, now would you?"

Luke glanced warily over at the casket. He seemed to shake off his uneasiness and stood, gripping the vial.

"I'll be back," he told her in a hard voice, his eyes having hardened into blue crystals. Without another word, he exited the stateroom. I looked back at Kelli and jumped out of my skin when I realized she was looking straight at me.

"Enjoying the show, little godling?" she asked. I didn't know what to say to that. Even if I did, I didn't know if she would be able to hear me. Clearly she could tell I was here, though. "I have a little surprise waiting for you back at camp. Can't wait 'til you see it." With that she lunged at me

I bolted upright in bed, a small yelp making its way out of my mouth. I was breathing hard, my heart pounded painfully against my ribcage, and I'd developed a thin sheen of sweat on my forehead. I rubbed my neck, the feeling of her fingers wrapping around my throat still lingering.

I looked around the darkened room to see if I'd woken anyone up. No one stirred. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in and dropped my hand from my neck. Heart still hammering against my chest, I slowly laid back down, taking deep breaths and trying to calm myself down.

As soon as my head hit the pillow I remembered the vial of green liquid that Kelli had handed Luke and sat up again. That seemed important. Vitally important.

They'd been talking about Thalia's tree before Luke was given that vial. So the two were connected. Coming from a monster that liked to kill demigods, I didn't think that whatever was in it was good. Also, Luke had said he couldn't do something because Thalia had been his friend, so that had to mean whatever he was being asked to do was going to hurt her tree…

Poison. That was the only thing that came to mind. An odd green liquid in a vial? That was classic, textbook poison. So, then, why? Why poison Thalia's tree? What would that even do…?

I gasped before covering my mouth and looking around the cabin again. Someone shifted and mumbled something, but stayed asleep.

Thalia's tree is what radiated the magic border that kept the monsters out of camp. If her tree was poisoned, the border would be too. It only made sense. My other dreams suddenly become crystal clear. Maybe not the ones in the hallways, or being out at sea, but monsters in camp? That confirmed they'd gotten past the border. But it wasn't because they were getting stronger, the barrier was getting weaker because Thalia's tree was dying.

Without really thinking, I threw the sheets off of me. I quickly dressed and left the cabin, trying to be quiet but quick (which I'd become very good at). I probably should have grabbed a weapon, but if I was right, I wouldn't have time to break into the armory (you learn things after living in the Hermes cabin for six years) to grab any of my weapons (handcrafted by the Hephaestus cabin to fit me perfectly, just by the way). Besides, if it was Luke who was coming, maybe I would be able to talk to him. No weapons necessary.

I ran across camp, hoping beyond hope no harpies would catch me, and straight to Half-Blood Hill. The moonlight shone, helping me see, but I couldn't tell if someone was standing next to the tree or not. When I got to the crest, I saw no one. No Luke, no monsters, nothing. All was quiet.

But something had changed. Now that I was actually paying attention, the moon seemed dimmer, somehow. The grass on the hill seemed to droop, like it was sad or sickly.

I made my way over to the tree, examining it, squinting my eyes, trying to see if something about the tree had changed. My first time around I didn't notice anything, but upon closer inspection, I noticed that it was oozing sap. It was too dark to tell the color, but the sap was coming from bullet-sized hole about three feet from the ground. I instantly looked up and noticed that some of the pine needles on the lowest bough of the tree were slightly discolored.

I was too late. Luke had already poisoned Thaila's tree.

I couldn't avoid not going to Chiron any longer. I had to tell him. I sprinted back down the hill and straight toward the Big House. I was a little afraid of waking up Chiron in the middle of the night, but this seemed more important than sleep. The whole camp and everyone in it was now in jeopardy.

I launched myself over all three steps and was just about to bang on the door when I heard what sounded like a strangled scream that cut off abruptly coming from the cabins. I froze, panting, my fist raised and half-way to the door.

Then I remember Kelli had told me something before I'd woken up… What had she said?

_I have a little surprise waiting for you back at camp. Can't wait 'til you see it._

My stomach dropped and my heart went into overtime. I completely forgot about Chiron and ran across the porch, vaulting over the railing, hitting the ground running, toward the cabins. Could the poison really work this fast? Were monsters already able to break through the barrier?

I stopped as I came up to the cabins, my answer staring me in the face. Yes, they could. If they were strong enough.

There were two people, well one demigod and one monster, near the Apollo cabin. The monster was straddling the half-blood, who was lying on the ground not moving, its face buried in the camper's neck. The light coming from the fire in the middle of the inverted U of cabins showed me what looked to be a girl, who was dressed in jeans and camp t-shirt, but I had a feeling she wasn't a friendly, considering her skin was deathly pale. Also it looked like she was taking a bit out of the other person's neck. I had a feeling that if I pulled up the legs of her jeans, I'd find one donkey leg and one bronze leg.

Another _empousa_.

I edged closer, staying close to the crackling fire, trying to assess the situation, see if there was any way I'd be able to fight this monster without getting killed myself. I froze when I saw the face of the camper she was feasting on.

I gasped, sucking in a sharp, shaky breath, his name falling from my lips, "Dan?"

* * *

><p><strong>So, shorter than my last few ones, but my first cliff hanger! Honestly, though, you guys are lucky, because I'm a stickler for cliff hangers, and I'm surprised there haven't been any since I started this story. Chapter 11 and I finally get to my first cliff hanger! I'm slacking off!<strong>

**I know half of it's, like, filler, but I thought it'd be good comedic relief, something light-hearted and humorous. Anyway, I'll be posting Sunday, so stay tuned!**

**And as always I hope you enjoyed.**

**To FadedSunset (I hope it's all right I reply to you in my AN's. If it's not, feel free to tell me and I'll stop. If you do want me to stop, just know I love reading your reviews. They make me smile and boost my confidence.): Thanks! Yes, they sure have. All great couples have some sort of issues they need to work through. And thanks, I really appreciate that. It makes me feel so much better :) I look forward to hear what you have to say about this cliffy! ;)**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight <strong>


	12. Twelve

**TRIGGER WARNING: violence, tiny bit of gore and torture.**

* * *

><p>Worst of All<p>

Seeing him so ghastly pale and not moving was jolting. It hurt quite a bit more than I thought it would. Not that I thought about Dan being on his death bed often. I mean, I _had_ thought about it, because we were demigods, and our lives were so dangerous, but it wasn't like I thought about it every day or something.

My brother and I have had and still have a difficult relationship, as you can imagine, but I was very protective of him. Technically speaking, because I came out of the womb first, I was older. And I guess, because of that, I felt protective of him. To know someone had hurt him, _was_ hurting him, that he was almost dead—maybe even…no, I didn't want to think about it—made me so irrationally angry it shocked me.

Only, too late, I realized that the _empousa_ hard heard my gasp.

My ADHD kicked in as the monster stopped what she was doing. Time seemed to slow tremendously, like everything was moving through molasses. As the _empousa_ sat up I looked around the clearing for anything I could use as a weapon. The fire might slow her down, but I didn't think it would wound her or kill her. I needed Celestial bronze…

Then I spotted something winking at me with the reflection of the firelight. It was near Zeus's cabin, like it'd been tossed away. It was smaller than the usual daggers or knives we had at camp, but it was my best shot. I just needed to find a way to get to it.

My time was up. The _empousa_ had sat up fully and turned to stare at me with those vicious red eyes.

As soon as our eyes locked, I barreled toward her. First thing, I had to get her away from Dan. I wasn't sure if he was still alive, but either way I was not going to let her eat his flesh. I couldn't scream for help either, because if Dan was still alive she'd probably kill him before anyone could help. I wasn't about to take that risk.

The _empousa_ stood to face me. At the last moment, I twisted my upper body so that when I crashed into her, my shoulder rammed into her chest, sending her backward. She stumbled, not expecting this, tripping over Dan's body and landing on her back. But she used this momentum to do a backward somersault. She no sooner landed in a crouch before she lunged at me, fangs bared. She was fast, despite her lopsided legs.

I just barely managed to sidestep her attack, spinning around so I could face her. She came at me, her claws swiping at my face. I dodged and stepped back, before blocking her other swipe and kicking her in the stomach. She stumbled back, confused again but that confusion quickly turned into a sneer.

"No weapon, demigod?" she taunted.

"Oh, I've got one," I lied, trying not to let my fear show. Maybe if I could get her to land in the fire…

I took a step to my left experimentally. Just as I hoped, she took a step to her right, watching my movements closely or maybe trying to decide if I did have a weapon or not. I continued to move to my left until my back felt like it was roasting.

Her eyes narrowed. "You're lying." She decided right before she lunged at me again. I dove to my right. I didn't hear a scream, but the fire roared like something huge and flammable had just been tossed into it. I didn't have time to think about this or look back, because I needed to get to that knife, or whatever it was.

I got to my feet and sprinted toward Zeus's cabin. I was only a yard away from the weapon when a hand grasped the back of my shirt and threw me down. The impact knocked all the air from my lungs, stars danced across my vision. I gasped helplessly for a few seconds, trying to get my lungs to work again.

When my vision cleared and I could breathe again, the _empousa_ was standing over me, smirking triumphantly. Her clothes were smoking with burnt holes here and there, but she looked pretty unscathed.

Without warning, I rolled onto my side, simultaneously swinging my legs at her ankles. She went crashing to the ground as I pushed myself up to my feet again. I tried to sidestep her as I went for the small dagger, but she grabbed my ankle and I went sprawling, my right arm outstretched, fingertips brushing the dagger. I allowed myself a brief moment to look back to be able to kick her in the face with my free foot. My heel connected with her nose, there was a loud crunch and she hissed in pain. I used this momentary distraction to close the infinitesimal space between my hand and the dagger, and grasped the weapon.

Now that I was closer, I realized it wasn't a dagger, or even a knife. It was a letter opener. A flashback threatened to take over my senses, but I forced it down because I could feel the _empousa_ looming over me. Though, the situation I was in right now was sickeningly similar. As a last ditch effort, I turned, still on the ground, arm outstretched, ready to impale her, but she caught my wrist easily.

I tried to pull my wrist out of her grasp, but she twisted my arm, forcing me to let go of the letter opener. She then pushed me completely on my back on the ground, before straddling me and pinning my arm down with her hand. I tried to punch her with my free hand, but she caught that too and forced it to the ground. She put her bronze foot on my wrist, before folding her donkey leg underneath her and laying that on my right wrist.

I was completely immobile.

Still, I struggled, trying to pull my arms away from her, but she was so strong. The more I struggled the more pressure she put on my wrists, the more pain spread through my body.

Breathing hard, I glared up at her as she smirked down at me.

At this time, I probably could've screamed for help. We were in the middle of the cabins, so a bunch of kids who were trained to fight monsters would've burst out and surrounded us. I didn't really care if she killed me, as long as Dan was safe, I was fine with dying. The only reason I didn't was because I'd completely forgotten where I was. The world had shrunk to contain only me, my brother and the _empousa_.

"It was a nice try, but you're _weak_," she spat. "So is your little camp. Soon, it'll be all in flames, your friends? Dead." I spit in her face. Her hair flared. Suddenly her hand was gripping my neck and our noses were almost touching. The pressure on my wrists, however, didn't lesson.

"You are in no position to disrespect me," she growled, her claws for nails dug into the base of my throat and I yelped, instinctively trying to pull away. She pulled back slightly, her other hand grabbing what was left of my hair and forcing my head against the ground, exposing more of my neck. She drug one of her nails along the length of my throat, making me cringe.

"I thought you only fed off boys," I commented, glaring at her.

She smiled wickedly, her eyes flashing. She stopped stroking my neck with her nail. "Oh, I'm not done with your brother," she said, glancing over her shoulder at his unconscious body. "He's still alive, by the way." She turned back to look at me. "But just barely hanging on by a thread."

My anger surged, tinging my vision red. New energy surged through me. "Are you the _little surprise_ Kelli sent for me?" I ground out through gritted teeth, struggling—uselessly—to get out from underneath her once again.

The _empousa_ chuckled. "You like it? That brother of yours is quite handsome. I'm glad Kelli picked you."

"So, _what_? You're just going to kill me now and get back to your meal." I stumbled on the word meal, referring to Dan like that made my stomach roll.

"You wish," the _empousa_ quipped. "Oh, no, Kelli sent me here for you. Your brother was just a little extra. You could even call him payment."

I ripped my hair from her grasp, lifting my head and my shoulders off the ground to get into her face. "How dare you refer to him like that—" I broke off when she dug one of her sharp nails into the base of my throat, slowly forcing me back to the ground.

I was breathing heavily again, wanting to rip her head off but being unable to. It was infuriating.

The _empousa_ followed my right collar bone with her nail as soon as I was on the ground again before stopping abruptly and digging it into my skin. It was kind of like how a needle punctures the skin, sharp and quick, only a thousand times more painful. A choked yelp escaped my mouth and my whole body tensed. I stopped breathing.

Grinning horribly, meeting my eyes, she started to pull her nail through my skin. A scream bubbled up to my lips but before it could come out, her other hand clamped over my mouth. That didn't stop the scream, but it lessened the noise. I fought against her legs, to free my wrists, my back arched, my heels dug into the dirt as I kicked. I turned my head away, like I could escape her, escape the pain, by doing so and I squeezed my eyes shut, tears pouring from them.

It was like being sliced open with a scalpel, only I was awake and _very_ aware. It was only just barely worse than when the hellhound had shredded my shoulder and the back of my arm, because at least that had been quick. The _empousa_ was cutting so slowly, the agony seemed to last forever. I couldn't tell when she stopped with one cut and began with another, if she even stopped at all. All I knew was pain.

She finally finished and removed her hand from my mouth. I was breathing heavily, each breath shaky and gravelly, like more screams trying to come out, but my body not having enough energy to make them proper. My whole right shoulder throbbed. I could feel the blood from the cuts trickling to the ground.

It had felt like eternity, but had to have only been a minute or two.

"Bored now," she said. I looked up at her through the corners of my eyes, too exhausted to turn my head. "Time to say goodbye." She lifted her hand, pointing her index finger to the sky. I watched in horror as her nail flashed in the firelight, becoming about a foot long and wicked thin in the blink of an eye.

I couldn't move as she positioned this nail-dagger, letting the tip rest against the place between my neck and shoulder. It easily pierced through my skin—my yelp was small, almost silent, and my body tensed, but my energy had hit zero—sliding through tissue like it was nothing. I wasn't sure what she was aiming for (lungs, heart?), but I figured "goodbye" meant "dead."

I kept my eyes open. I wanted to see the sky, the stars, in my last moments.

It seemed so unfair to have it end like this. After everything I'd been through. To die in a place that I called home. That was painful to think about. Or, it could've been from the injuries I'd sustained.

I tried to put a positive spin on it. At least I was home and not in the middle of nowhere, starved, cold and hungry. At least I could see the stars. Maybe Dan would be okay. Maybe before she could finish him off, by some miracle a camper would come out and save him. It was highly doubtful, but positive, right?

Just when I thought for sure it was all over, the _empousa_ suddenly froze, her eyes widening, her mouth dropping into an O, in a silent scream. There was a moment where nothing happened, then, with a horrible shriek, the _empousa_ burst into sulfurous dust, leaving her nail still embedded in my body.

The _empousa_'s fiery hair and red eyes dissolved and was replaced by a mop of brown hair and very concerned blue eyes. The person standing over me was holding the small celestial bronze letter opener in one slightly shaking hand.

"Conner?" I managed, through the fog of pain. Both my hands, now that they were finally free, went up to touch where the nail met my skin. I felt a warm, sticky substance coat my fingers and swallowed hard. Then I remembered Dan and tried to sit up.

Conner quickly dropped to his knees and pushed me back down carefully, only touching my left shoulder.

"No, don't move. Some of the Apollo kids are coming over," he told me. I shifted my head as much as I dared (I didn't want to jostle the nail, afraid it might hit its intended target and kill me) to look around the camp. As Conner had said, the Apollo kids were up and surrounding who I assumed was Dan. Travis was with them. I watched as a few of them picked Dan up and started toward the Big House.

The rest of the camp was waking up too. The _empousa_'s scream hadn't been quiet. Lights glowed from inside cabins, campers came out half-awake and confused, murmuring and muttering things. Before the Apollo campers could get to me, a group of kids from the Ares, Demeter and Athena cabins were surrounding me, inquiring Conner what was wrong, what had happened. They noticed my wounds and started whispering in each other's ears.

"All right, enough!" a guy's voice yelled from behind the crowd. "Give her some room to breathe, people," he shouted. The group parted and Lee Fletcher, the head counselor for the Apollo cabin, came forward. He was Asian, so his skin was a shade darker than mine and his straight, short jet black hair was a bit disheveled, probably from waking up so abruptly in the middle of the night. But he had startling, deep blue eyes. They reminded me of Apollo's blue eyes.

Lee knelt down on my right. He gently pulled my hands away from my sounds and examined them. I wasn't sure if he was purposefully not meeting my eyes.

"Is Dan…all right? Is he still…alive?" I asked him. Lee finally looked at me.

"He lost a lot of blood, but he's still alive, for now." Lee told me in a very calm, cool voice. It was surprisingly comforting. "Some of my siblings have taken him to the Big House. Which is where we need to get you. But first, I need to remove that…whatever it is from your neck."

Lee stood and removed his shirt, wadding it up before kneeling down next to me again. He held his shirt in one hand and took the nail in the other.

Looking at me, he said, "I'm going to remove it now." I nodded and held my breath. It was quick and didn't hurt nearly as much as it had going in, thankfully. Lee then pressed his shirt up against the wound to stem the bleeding.

"Conner, help me get her up. We need to get her to the infirmary as fast as possible." Lee instructed. Conner nodded and together they put my arms around their shoulders and hauled me to my feet, Lee keeping a pressure on my puncture wound with his other hand. The world spun and my ears rung, but I stumbled forward as the two boys helped me to the Big House.

It could've been because of the blood loss or because of the pain, but when we got into the infirmary and I saw a part of the room sectioned off by a white curtain, all concern for myself went out the window. Suddenly all my mind could think about was Dan. Was he behind that curtain? He had to be, I didn't think anyone else had gotten hurt tonight. So, what was happening to him? Why did they need that curtain? Was he even still alive?

I started to pull away from Lee and Conner, toward the white curtain, but Lee tightened his grasp on me.

"You need to sit down and let me treat you, Tori," he warned in a stern voice.

"I need to see Dan," I responded. "I need to see if he's all right. I just want to make sure he's still alive…" My voice cracked, the image of that _empousa_ feeding off of him, his ashen skin, flashing behind my eyes. I wanted to see him with color, I wanted to see that he was _breathing_.

"Chiron and the others are doing their best. Will is with them. He's our best healer. I'm sure Dan's fine. But you won't be if you don't let me treat those wounds," Lee told me as both he and Conner half-dragged, half-led me over to a cot. I sat down hard onto the edge of the bed, my legs giving out for a moment, but started to stand up again almost immediately.

"Tori," Lee scolded, putting more pressure on my wound, but also keeping me seated. "You need medical attention."

"I just need to see Dan," I pleaded, though my voice was just barely a whisper. "Just real quick, please." I started to get up again and more people descended on me. The other Apollo campers who weren't with Dan had followed me here, and almost all of them grabbed for my arms, or put hands on my shoulders to keep my seated.

This only made things worse.

The feeling of hands gripping my limbs and forcing me down was too reminiscent of the first time I was admitted to the mental ward. I'd thrashed and struggled but six of the orderlies had grabbed my arms and legs and held me down against my will as four more orderlies had pinned my wrists and ankles to the bed.

I panicked.

"Don't _touch_ me!" I snapped, pulling away from everyone, and backing into a corner where the small bedside table and cot met. I felt adrenaline I couldn't afford to use up course through my body.

I glared at the group—which consisted of half the Apollo cabin and Conner—surrounding me. Their eyes were wide, shocked, surprised, confused. My shoulder throbbed painfully and I put my hand up to put pressure on the shirt that had managed to stay on when I'd pulled away from Lee.

I was still half-stuck in my memory. My glare wasn't angry, it was frightened. I was trembling and I couldn't tell if it was because I'd lost so much blood—still was—and was forcing my body to still function, or because of how scared I was.

The cots here didn't have any restraints that I could see, but my mind was stuck. I breathed heavily, my eyes darting around the group, watching for signs of movement. I was a cornered animal ready to attack. It really didn't help that I was hurt.

Lee slowly stepped forward, regaining his composure. I tried to back up further, but when I realized I didn't have any more space, I tensed, my free hand fisting, ready to fight. Lee quickly held up his hands in a surrender gesture.

"Hey, it's all right," he said in a soothing voice. "We just want to help." He turned his head slightly to the side, to address the group, but kept his eyes on me. "Cressida, will you go inquire about Dan, please?" He turned his head back to face me fully as a girl, maybe fourteen, darted off toward the white curtain. I watched her go before warily turning my gaze back to Lee, who'd taken another step forward.

We all waited in a tense silence for Cressida to return. When she did, she pushed her way to the front to stand at Lee's right flank.

"Dan's still alive," she told me. "He's getting a transfusion, as we speak. He's going to be fine, Tori."

I swallowed hard, my hand furling and unfurling. Okay, so he was okay. This _wasn't_ a mental hospital. I could calm down. I could relax. I would let them treat my wounds so long as they didn't try to grab me again. Okay, relax.

I took a few deep breaths before slowly stepping out from my corner and sitting down on the cot. Lee lowered his arms and sat down next to me, slowly. I angled my body so that he could see my shoulder a little better. The rest of the group let out a collective sigh.

Lee carefully removed his ruined t-shirt from my wound.

"I'm going to pull the collar of your shirt down a little so I can look at those, cuts, okay?" he said softly. I nodded. He peeled back my shirt, because it had soaked up a lot of blood, and examined the cuts. He looked up, over my shoulder at the group. "I'm going to need some nectar, ambrosia, some gauze pads and a role of medical tape, please. Quickly!" His eyes focused back on me again as I hard multiple footsteps run off. "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt." His tone was kind of embarrassed, but at this point I didn't really care.

It took me way longer than it should have, but moving my shoulder around with so many wounds was impossible without feeling some pain. They throbbed and ached and bled more, and the process was slow, but I finally got my shirt off. I was panting and my head spun. Throughout this struggle, campers came over and handed Lee the things he'd asked for.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, fighting to stay upright, against my better judgment. Lee was currently tending to my lacerations. I winced as he poured some nectar over them.

Lee paused momentarily, confused. He looked at me. "For what?"

"Freaking out on you guys back there," I clarified. "You were just trying to help."

"It's fine," Lee assured, eyes going back to what he was doing. I was pretty sure he was going to say something else when I suddenly pitched forward. I heard him call my name but my world went dark.

* * *

><p><strong>So, a little shorter again. But not a cliffhanger, so you're all good. Not much else to say here… Until next time!<strong>

**As always, I hope you enjoyed.**

**To FadedSunset: Is it bad that your review made me laugh? Seriously though, I really enjoyed reading it. I hope this was a good conclusion to my cliffhanger. Most of your questions were answered. (We'll be seeing Luke soon-ish, I think.) And, that's good, I'm glad it doesn't bother you, because I really like to reply to my readers' reviews. :) It's always super nice to know what the reader is thinking. Especially if they're enjoying the story. ;)**

**And I greatly appreciate all the favorites and story alerts from other readers, too, because it tells me that people are watching and reading and, hopefully, liking. So, thank you for those.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	13. Thirteen

Fear of Falling Apart

When I woke up again, it was light out. I was still in the infirmary, lying on a cot. A soft blanket covered me. I had a new t-shirt on. I blinked the sleep from my eyes and peeked under my collar. There were three thin, pink lines starting from underneath my right collar bone and going down at an angle about six inches. I realized with a shock that that's where the _empousa_ had cut me. Even after all these years of healing and watching healing, it amazed me that it now looked like I'd been scratched by a cat instead of sliced open by an _empousa_. No stitches, no huge, noticeable scars. The food of the gods and Apollo kids' healing powers did wonders.

A gauze pad had been taped to where I'd been impaled, though. More damage than lacerations, I supposed.

Slowly, I sat up. My shoulder was only slightly sore.

My poor shoulders. First my left had been shredded by a hellhound (rehab had been a nightmare, but the ambrosia helped tremendously), and now an _empousa_ had sliced her way through the other like I'd been some sick operation game for her to experiment and play with.

"Tori," someone said from the end of my bed. I looked to see Chiron in his wheelchair form. "I know you've just woken, but I need to ask you about what happened last night."

I gasped and sat up before starting to look around the infirmary. "Dan, where's Dan—?" I broke off when I saw him lying in the cot next to me. The color had come back to his skin and I could see his chest rise and fall gently. My whole being relaxed, my breathing suddenly felt easier, my muscles less tense. Tears stung my eyes.

I blinked rapidly to dispel them, remembering Chiron wanted to talk to me about last night. I looked back at him and told him my story, from my dream about Luke all the way to when I finally arrived at the Big House for the second time. Chiron looked grim when I finished.

"This isn't good," he finally murmured contemplatively. "I must go examine her tree at once." Without missing a beat, he started to stand from his wheelchair. Well, it looked like he was standing up, but really, he was pulling his lower horse-half out of his magic chair. With a nod to me, he galloped out.

I sighed, throwing my legs off the bed, so I could sit on the edge, and looked back over at Dan's sleeping form. I felt a smile pulling at the edge of my lips. He was alive. Thank the gods. Then I noticed something resting on the bedside table between our two cots. My breath caught and my smile faded. It was the bronze letter opener.

It couldn't have been the same one I'd used to kill the hellhound so long ago. It couldn't have been the same letter opener that had been in my mom's possession for as long as I can remember. Yet…there it was. The same as I always remembered it.

It was fashioned like Godric Gryffindor's sword, but the silver of the sword was replaced by Celestial bronze (it even had the engraved name of Godric Gryffindor). The hilt remained the same. I remembered always thinking how much the two colors clashed when I was little.

Where Mom had gotten it, I wasn't sure—Apollo maybe?—but it'd been in our house at least since Dan and I were born.

With a shaking hand, I slowly reached over for it. I had just wrapped my fingers around it when someone else's hand covered mine. I jumped and started to pull away, but Dan's fingers, which were very warm, wrapped gently around my hand, keeping it where it was.

I looked over at Dan's cot to see him awake. He'd even sat up, though he looked worn and just a tad bit paler than usual. I must've been so caught up in my own thoughts to not notice that he'd woken up.

"Hey," he greeted quietly, letting go of my hand. I dropped the letter opener and pulled my own hand back into my lap.

"Hey," My voice was ragged and I cleared my throat self-consciously. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks to you, so I'm told," he responded.

I glanced at the letter opener before reaching forward to pick it up.

"You never told me you had this," I said, turning it over in my hands.

"I know," Dan mumbled. "I guess I thought you'd want it if you knew. And that's the only thing that I have that belonged to…Mom." His voice broke. I looked back up at him. I could see the tears in his eyes. It was almost comforting to know that he still teared up when thinking about Mom, like I did.

I set the letter opener back on the table. "No, I wouldn't have taken it from you." I said. "Besides, I have her guitar…" I swallowed hard. "How did you even get it, though? I thought it'd be lost in some evidence locker at the police department."

Dan took the letter opener into his hands and fiddled with it. "It almost was," he started. "They thought maybe it'd been used against Mom, but when they realized that it was an _animal_ that attacked you guys, it no longer counted as evidence. There was no blood on it, pointing what type of animal either. So, they released it to me." He set the opener down. "I'm not sure if they're technically allowed to do that, but I convinced them with a few tears."

I laughed, in spite of myself and Dan joined me. It felt good to laugh with him again. To laugh at all, because it felt like I hadn't laughed for a while.

"Well, you were quite the actor," I told him, as our laughter died down. "Still are."

Dan looked away. His smile became wistful and I suddenly felt horribly guilty for bringing that up.

He loved acting, and theater, participated in it whenever he could. Usually ended up with the leads of our small school plays and musicals. He'd really wanted to become an actor—Broadway first, then the silver screen. But then our mom died and we found out we were half-god, that monsters were real and wanted to kill us. Our lives spun out of control. His dream had to be put on hiatus. There was no telling how long it would last now that we didn't go to school anymore. Now that death was higher on the list than anything else, always.

"I'm sorry," I blurted. "I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's fine," Dan assured, though I wasn't convinced in the slightest. He took a deep breath. "It's fine." He repeated a little quieter, not meeting my eyes. I looked down at the floor, internally scolding myself for bringing that up. It had been going so well.

It became awkwardly silent between us. After our separation, we'd never really been good at conversation. Not including the fact that I'd brought up an especially touchy subject. I was better than _that_, usually.

Anyway, as I said before, deep down, a small part of me resented Dan for being claimed. It wasn't like he could help it, but that anger toward him was still there. Now that I knew why Apollo hadn't claimed me, I suppose I was also jealous that he wasn't as angry at Apollo as I was. I _wished_ that I wasn't so bitter, then maybe I would've been claimed alongside Dan. But I wished that our mom was still alive more than anything.

Last night had made me realize something, though. And it was the fact that, despite everything that had happened to us, I still loved my brother. I loved him dearly, and thinking that he could've died last night was almost too much to bear. I realized that he was the only family I had left and the way I'd locked him out hadn't been fair to him at all.

I looked back up at my brother. He was fiddling with the letter opener again.

"Dan," I said to catch his attention. He slowly looked up. "I'm sorry we grew apart after Apollo claimed you. I was hurt and confused. I felt humiliated and like Apollo didn't care about me. I was angry at you, even. But I shouldn't have pushed you away like I did. You're my brother and with Mom gone, you're all I have left. I just want you to know that I care about you, that I love you and I'm sorry."

Dan smiled. "I forgive you," he said. "And I love you, too."

I couldn't help the relieved grin that spread across my face. It still felt awkward between us, but I felt like a weight had just been lifted from my chest. I could breathe a little easier now. Saying those words had been easier than I thought, but it was nice to say them. They'd rolled off my tongue so smoothly.

Dan's smile slowly disappeared, a nervousness taking its place. My own smile faded and I swallowed hard. That wasn't good.

Dan looked down. "As long as we're confessing things, I might as well—" He looked back up at me but broke off, his eyes flickering to something above my head. "Don't look now," he muttered. I instantly looked up to see a bright, almost too bright, hologram of a…lyre. I couldn't tell you exactly what color it was because it was like a mini sun had just appeared over my head: white, yellow, orange, like the sun.

I stared up at it in awe, Dan's confession being momentarily put on the back-burner. I wasn't quite sure what to think about it. I mean, I had mixed feelings. Part of me felt good, actually. To finally be recognized. I could finally move past the indefinite awkward moment. I could join my brother, and my half-brothers and -sisters. I didn't have to live at camp knowing I didn't belong in the Hermes cabin.

Part of me was still angry, would probably always be angry, at Apollo. For everything: not helping my mom, not claiming me when he claimed Dan, the things he told me during that trip to Mount Olympus.

That's when I figured out that I could feel good, but not necessarily happy, because I wasn't. I wasn't happy at all.

The hologram started to fade just as Chiron clopped back into the infirmary. I turned to look over my shoulder so I could see him. He seemed slightly startled but it lasted about a second before he smiled, though his eyes were distant—probably thinking about Thalia's tree. It wasn't looking too good for the camp, then.

I saw him start to kneel and quickly held up a hand.

"Please don't," I said.

His smile grew, his eyes crinkling at the edges and clearing a bit of their grimness.

"I will go inform the Apollo cabin," he said. His face darkened. "Then we need to talk about what's happened to Thalia's tree." I nodded and he exited again. I turned back to face Dan.

"What about Thalia's tree?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Long story, I'll tell you later if Chiron doesn't talk to camp about it tonight at dinner." Dan nodded. Another silence started to form between us. I didn't think I believed I'd just been claimed.

"I don't have to help lead those camp sing-alongs, now, do I?" I finally asked with mock dread in my voice.

Dan smiled and rolled his eyes. "Not if you don't want to. They're honestly not that bad, you know." I snorted. Dan continued, going in a direction I wished he hadn't, "But I think you should. You have a beautiful singing voice." He paused. "You sound like Mom, actually."

I looked down at the floor again, wringing my hands. "Please, don't say that." I mumbled.

"It's true," Dan responded. "You remind me so much of Mom…" He broke off. His voice had gone raw. I looked back up at him.

"Don't do this," I whispered pleadingly.

"You need to hear this," Dan said, his voice wavered though. "Besides, I was going to tell you this anyway, before you were claimed." I had almost completely forgotten about what Dan had been about to say. My brother continued, "You're not the only one to blame for the wedge that was driven between us. When you told me what happened to Mom, I was angrier at you than I was at Apollo. And it wasn't that I wished you had died instead of Mom—I wish she hadn't died at all—but it was because you reminded me so much of Mom and it _hurt_—" His voice broke.

"Dan," I tried, but he interrupted me.

"But I realized something, too," He spoke with more fervor. "I'm lucky to still have you. I'm lucky that you were still alive, even though you'd been so badly wounded. I care about and love you, too, Tori." He swallowed hard. His voice had gone back to a whisper. "You remind me so much of Mom, and it hurts. But…it's almost like she never left. Our memories of her, _you_, keep her spirit alive. And that's comforting to me."

I blinked and tears I hadn't realized formed, streamed down my face. I took a deep breath and wiped them away. I looked at everything in the room except for Dan. I was even more confused. So many emotions swirled inside me. It made me feel slightly dizzy and sick. Being claimed, re-kindling that relationship with Dan, hearing Dan tell me that I reminded him of Mom…

"Will you sing?" Dan suddenly asked. I finally looked at him, stunned. "I want to…I want to hear you sing. I haven't heard you sing in so long."

"I don't know…" I rubbed my arm, feeling self-conscious. I didn't think I sounded like Mom at all. She had a much prettier singing voice.

"A short song, then. Please?" Dan insisted. "_The Parting Glass_?" I smiled a little at this, one of our favorites. One of the songs I requested she sing a Capella frequently.

I swallowed hard and took a breath. I let my eyes go into a soft focus. I got the first two lines out, kind of shaky and infused with ragged emotion, before the memories and emotions seemed become so overwhelming my voice stopped working altogether. But Dan helped by picking up where I'd left off. I focused in on him and he met my eyes. He sang the next two lines before I composed myself enough to continue the song. He held my gaze as we sand the song together, a baritone and alto.

At the end of the song, Dan stopped and let me finish the last two lines. There was a moment of silence before I heard clapping behind me. I jumped and quickly turned to see Lee and Chiron. Both were clapping. Lee was also smiling.

I felt my face flush and turned to look at Dan.

"You knew they were there," I complained.

He shrugged. "They came after I asked you to sing, honest. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to stop."

Lee came to stand between the two beds, at the end. "Dan was right, you've got an amazing voice," he complimented.

I glared at Dan. "I thought you said they hadn't come in until after I started the song."

He rolled his eyes. "I can't talk about my twin sister to our half-siblings?"

My face felt even hotter. "Point taken," I muttered.

Lee laughed and I turned my glare on him. He quickly stopped, but was only just barely trying to hide it.

"I just came to welcome you to Cabin Seven," Lee told me through stifled giggles. "Also that we've moved your things."

I shot up to my feet, panic seizing me. "My guitar—" I started.

"Don't worry, it's fine. We were careful." Lee assured quickly. I hesitantly sat back down again. I knew I could trust them. They were musicians, they knew how to handle their instruments, but I didn't like other people touching my guitar. Even if it was weathered musical artists. The only other person I would really extend the curtesy of touching, holding or playing it was Dan. I suppose, if it was just for a little bit, it was okay. But just this once.

"I think everyone here knows not to mess with Tori and her guitar," Chiron's voice sounded, startling me. I'd forgotten he was still there. "But now we must get onto more important matter." He gave me a pointed look. "I hope you are feeling up to a stroll, Tori."

I nodded mutely and stood. Chiron exited the infirmary.

"Thanks," I told Lee as I passed him. I turned back around to look at Dan. "I guess I'll see you later." I paused. "Uh…both of you." My eyes flickered from Dan and Lee. With a final nod, I followed Chiron out.

He was waiting on the porch. When I came out he started toward the strawberry fields and I froze.

"Is there a problem?" Chiron asked, noticing my hesitancy.

I swallowed hard. I'd have to face my fear some time or other, right?

"No, I—" I took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Just leftover stuff from what happened last night. I'll be fine."

Chiron looked at me skeptically before finally starting forward again. I walked at his side. I concentrated on staying as far away as possible from the vines while also trying not to encroach on Chiron's own walking space. I kept my eyes on the ground and inhaled the sweet smell of baking strawberries in the summer heat.

"Tori," Chiron began. "I don't want you telling anyone that what happened to the tree was because of Luke. I need you to keep that a secret for now, okay?"

"What? Why?" I was shocked, to say the least. I mean, it wasn't like I wanted everyone knowing that Luke, my boyfriend, had done something to his former home—though how much he thought of it as a home was questionable—but at the same time, it seemed like a vital piece of information people should know about.

"The titan lord is no doubt up to his tricks," Chiron explained. "I cannot have the camp knowing that he is trying to rise. Not yet." He paused. "Also, it would not boost the morale, to be betrayed by our own. And we need them ready to fight, to protect the camp from monsters until…until I can find a cure." His confidence wavered when he mentioned a cure.

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I swear on the River Styx." Thunder rumbled in the distance and I tried not to shiver. "But there is a cure, right? You can heal the tree? I mean, you've been alive for centuries. Surely there's a cure. There has to be."

Chiron was silent for a long time. With each passing second, dread slowly set in.

When he spoke, his voice was carefully controlled, "The poison used comes from a monster in the deepest parts of Tartarus. Ancient. And powerful. Thalia's tree is dying at a rapid rate, and with it the border that protects this camp." He paused to let that sink in. "I will look, but I fear that the answer won't lie in any potions textbook…" He trailed off. I could see the gears turning in his head, despite how beaten he sounded. "Things are going to change around here."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not just talking about the camp needing protecting against monsters?" I blurted. Chiron looked down at me warily before letting out a heavy sigh.

"The gods will need someone to blame," he told me. "I'm afraid that I might be the one."

"But, Luke—"

"You heard what Percy said about the gods last summer, Tori," Chiron interrupted. "This is a matter they aren't willing to discuss." This made me wonder why they'd even come after me then. Why they'd questioned me if they were in denial about this whole Kronos trying to rise thing, about Luke being his number one puppet. As if he'd read my mind, Chiron amended his statement, "Not openly, anyway."

"That's not fair to you," I finally said. I vaguely wondered what would happen if I did leak that the titan lord was trying to rise again. I'd probably be blown to smithereens. Which only begged the question why the gods I'd talked to hadn't told me to keep my mouth shut. Then again, it wasn't like you went around bragging they'd interrogated you in a torturous way because you just happened to have a romantic relationship with a traitor. Maybe that's what Dionysus had really been for: a scare tactic. Apollo was just salt to the open wounds.

"It's not," Chiron agreed, breaking me out of my thoughts. "But I'm afraid I have no control over what they decide."

"Then, tell them… tell them that I had a dream that told me that Luke poisoned the tree. I mean, they must know demigod dreams have weight to them, right?" The guilt was starting to build up. The necklace, being a spy. Now this. Chiron being blamed for something I could've—should've—prevented.

"That would only make things worse for you. You aren't in the gods' good graces, Tori. Laying low is your best option. They would only pin the blame for Thalia's poisoned tree on you." Chiron responded.

More guilt.

"Why would you do that for me?" I asked without really thinking. Chiron stopped, only I continued walking not realizing it. When I did, I stopped too and turned to face him. His face was devoid of emotion as far as I could tell, but his eyes were sad. So sad, my heart stopped.

"You are my student," he told me quietly. "I wouldn't let you take such blame. My punishment will probably be losing my job here. Your punishment would be much worse." His voice had gone to a whisper when he mentioned my punishment. Which wasn't comforting.

That's when the sorrow in his eyes clicked for me. It reminded me of a mournful sorrow, a deep pain. Like the death of a loved one… Or a mentor who waits up for a hero that never returns.

I suddenly felt like I was on my deathbed.

I almost blew it right then. I almost told him that I was helping Luke by spying on the camp. All the guilt was becoming crushing. I supposed losing his job was the least harsh punishment that could happen, but for Chiron that had to be like the end of the world. He'd spent centuries training demigods. He'd seen countless battles, wars and deaths. But also miracles and heroes. Losing all that couldn't be an easy concept for him. Yet, here he was, ready to give it all up to protect me, a traitor.

"Chiron—" I started, ready to spill the beans and face whatever punishment may come, but he cut me off.

"Don't worry about me," he said gently, the sadness in his eyes clearing, a soft smile forming on his features. "I'll be fine." His expression darkened. "It's the camp I am more worried about."

And I lost my nerve.

I finally looked around at the strawberries, the blue sky, the summer sun, beyond the fields to the Big House, the volleyball court, kids in orange camp shirts running back and forth to and from activities, my home.

"Yeah," I whispered nodding, looking back at Chiron. "Me too."

Chiron and I headed silently out of the fields and split up from there. I went over to check out my new cabin and Chiron went back to the Big House to inform Mr. D what happened, and no doubt, Mr. D would go inform the gods. At the very least, Zeus. After all, Thalia had been his daughter.

That night Chiron announced what was going on and border guards were worked out, times scheduled.

A day later, our new activities director, Tantalus, a ghost plucked straight from the Fields of Punishment, arrived. Chiron would stay at camp for a little while longer to show Tantalus the ropes, so to speak, before leaving.

Two weeks later, with the camp's border's weakening hour by hour and a steady pile of yellow pine needles forming at the base of Thalia's tree, the Colchis bulls attacked.

* * *

><p><strong>All right, so there's the next chapter for you. Certainly not as eventful as the last chapter, but I got some brother-sister bonding in and an intense talk with Chiron. And Tori was—<strong>_**finally**_**—claimed!**

**I hope the timeline makes sense. I was thinking about this long and hard. Re-reading **_**Sea of Monsters**_**, it didn't really make sense to me that Chiron hadn't left as soon as Tantalus arrived—he was fired after all. And I say this, because when Percy is talking to Clarisse after the fight with the bulls, she says things have changed around camp, which makes it sound like Tantalus has been around for quite a while. Yet, Chiron is only just leaving when Percy arrives, so… I made an excuse for Chiron to stay, even though his replacement has already shown up.**

**Title taken from "This is Gospel" by Panic! At the Disco.**

**And, as always, I hope you enjoyed.**

**To FadedSunset: Why thank you! They are definitely hard to write, so when someone tells me I can write them, it feels great. ^_^ Yeah, I completely agree. I really like Lee and Will, so I thought it'd be fun to try and integrate them into the story. Let them have so cameos :D Hopefully Will will get actual lines instead of an honorable mention in the future. Yay, that's good, haha.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	14. Fourteen

**So I messed up, bringing Tantalus in early (if I'd just re-read those first few chapters a little more closely…). Well, no matter. The deed is done. I've changed it up. So, now I must make it fit. My point is, there will be dialogue from **_**Sea of Monsters**_**, but it will, obviously, have slight differences because I changed stuff. *heavy sigh* Sometimes I just don't pay attention, I swear… (Though, I have no real reason to be so upset; this is an AU of sorts, so if I change things it shouldn't be such a problem.)**

**In any case, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Occupational Hazard<p>

So the story goes. Though, the scorch marks on Half-Blood Hill and the wounded Ares campers provided pretty good evidence. I was told by Dan and some others in our cabin about what happened later, that the Ares cabin had been on guard duty when two Colchis bulls attacked. They were having a bit of trouble getting them under control but Percy, Annabeth and their Cyclops friend showed up and helped them out.

I was busy doing chores. And by chores I mean laundry. And by laundry, I don't mean just Cabin Seven's laundry, I mean the laundry for _all_ the cabins.

Why? Because Tantalus—who always wore an orange jumpsuit with the number 0001, had choppy grey hair and dark, pitiless eyes—asked me to. And I couldn't refuse an order from our new activities director, especially when he's got Mr. D behind him.

I couldn't really figure why he'd taken such a severe disliking to me, but these past two weeks had been horrendous. I'd done dishes with the harpies twice now, once every week I was told, and laundry countless times. I'd scrubbed the outside bathrooms at least four times, cleaned out the stables four times, and had to dust and vacuum through the first floor of the Big House almost every day. And that didn't include cleaning up the rec room before curfew at night.

After dinner I was so exhausted from these tasks and my activities I skipped the bonfire—not that it was very fun anyway, with our camp dying and all—and went straight back to the Apollo cabin. I couldn't even enjoy my new cabin because whenever I was in there I was asleep!

What I can tell you was that it wasn't nearly as crowded, didn't even come close, and I got my own bunk, even a chest to store my things in and a guitar stand.

The inside was about as bright as the outside, but contrasted in that it wasn't a golden yellow. Almost everything in the cabin was a varying shade of white, with orange colored accents so you weren't drowning in white. One wall was completely painted with chalkboard paint—the only dark thing in the room. Small shelves of chalk were scattered about the wall, so you could write poetry, draw pictures, etc. It was pretty cool.

The floors were a matte ghost white ash wood. The bunks were made from a very, very white-washed spruce wood. The walls were ivory, but decorated with posters of musicals and music sheets and artwork for splashes of color. There was even some word art with short poems painted on the walls here and there. The color of the words was a vibrant orange. The sheets on the beds were decorated with soft orange music notes on swirling scales. The comforters, big, poofy, and warm were the same vibrant orange as the words painted on the walls. The ivory pillowcases had silhouetted musical instruments on them, which were colored a yellow-orange. The curtains at the windows were transparent and a light orange.

From what I saw of them, my half-siblings were nice enough. Dan (obviously), Lee, Will and Cressida were very welcoming. The others weren't as warm, so to speak, but they weren't downright snobby either. I think it was mostly because of my time in the master's archery class with them, honestly.

As I was saying, though, I didn't know why Tantalus was punishing me. I couldn't exactly question our new activities director, but I was beginning to get very tired of doing menial chores and tasks like I was some kind of maid. At the same time, I was so afraid of questioning him because that'd mean I was indirectly questioning Mr. D. After my experience with his grapevines, I could've gone a lifetime without having to speak with him and it wouldn't be long enough.

Either way, I was starting to get tired—figuratively and literally—with all this work. Even though I slept like the dead, throughout the day, I'd find myself dozing off or falling asleep. Thankfully, living in the Hermes cabin for six years had taught me how to sleep lightly. I could rest my body but still be in a low state of awareness of the things going on around me. If something was happening or the atmosphere in the room changed I'd wake up completely alert.

So, with all the dryers going, I jogged to the dining pavilion where the last couple of the cabins were filing in. The Apollo cabin had already sat down, but Dan had saved me a seat next to him. He always sat on my left, because of my scars. They were easy to feel through my shirt, if you were to pat or rub my shoulder, because they were so thick and jagged.

I quickly got up to go scrape some food in the brazier before sitting back down, resting my elbow on the table, chin in my hand, and falling asleep...well into that half-sleeping, half-aware state anyway. I'd been doing this for the past two weeks, too. Dan nudged me awake about half-way through dinner because he was concerned I wasn't getting enough to eat.

In truth, I probably wasn't. My breakfasts were always quick and light because I had so many things to do during the day. I gave myself at least a half-hour for lunch, but that's still not a lot of time to eat a nice, big meal without getting sick. By the time dinner came around, I was already half-asleep.

I remember hearing quite a bit more talking than normal, one of the voices sounding angry, but not angry enough for me to wake up fully. I recognized Tantalus's voice. The other voice sounded like Percy's, but I couldn't be sure because I hadn't seen him all year. I'm sure it had been entertaining—Dan told me later that Percy looked about ready to throttle Tantalus at one point—but I was too tired to care at the time.

Half-way through, just like he always did, my brother nudged me awake and convinced me to eat something. My food was still pretty warm, which was nice, but I ate slowly and sluggishly. The noise around me made my head pound and the flickering of the flames in the brazier was distracting.

I don't know how much I managed to get down, but I must've dozed off again, because I was jolted awake when Tantalus exclaimed, "Another fine meal!" I let out a heavy sigh and tried to pay attention. I didn't look up to the head table, but listened as I picked at the food I hadn't finished, eating some of it.

"Or so I'm told," Tantalus muttered. "I'd just like to reiterate for our new arrivals what a wonderful punishment it is to be your new activities director, and that during this summer I hope to torture—er…interact with each and every one of you." I snorted. He was sure torturing _me_. "You all look good enough to eat!"

I wiped my hands and finally looked up at the head table. Standing next to Tantalus was a Cyclops. I assumed it was the one Percy and Ananbeth had come with, considering I hadn't heard of any other Cyclops arriving. The poor monster looked so uncomfortable it hurt. As Tantalus talked, he tried to sidle away, but Tantalus always noticed and reached out a grubby, dirty finger-nailed hand to grab him and pull him back.

"And now some changes!" our new-ish activities director continued giving the campers a crooked grin, a mean gleam in his eye. "Mr. D and I have talked _at length_ about this and have finally come to a decision: we are reinstituting the chariot races!"

I would've been more shocked had I been more awake. As it was, the rest of the camp was shocked enough for me, shocked and excited and anxious.

Tantalus continued talking, over the voices, "Now, I know that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems—"

"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilation," Will, from our table, called out.

Tantalus waved his hand passively. "Yes, yes. But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition." It could've been the exhaustion, but the way he stated it made it sound like a threat. "Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month." he continued. "Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days' time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses." He paused to let that sink in. "Oh," His voice lit up like he just remembered something, "and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"

More excitement then last time broke out amongst everyone. I even perked up. I could feel a few of the Apollo campers' eyes on me. Living with me, they knew of my struggles. I didn't pay them any attention. He'd caught me with no chores. Did that include campers he hated and assigned so many to? If our cabin won…?

"But, sir!" someone exclaimed. I looked to see who it was.

Clarisse had stood up at her table. Her arm was in a sling and she had a sign that said, YOU MOO, GIRL! taped to her back. I couldn't help my slight surprise. A daughter of Ares, was objecting to something violent and potentially life-threatening?

"What about patrol duty?" she asked not hearing the snickering going on behind her back. "I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots—"

"Ah," Tantalus's eyes glittered. "The hero of the day." he complimented. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!" Oh flattery, the second best to bribery.

Clarisse shifted from foot-to-foot. Her back was to me, so I couldn't see her expression. "Um, I didn't—" she stuttered.

"And modest, too," Tantalus said in admiration. "Not to worry my dear! This is summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"

"But, the tree—" She broke off as some of her siblings pulled her back into her seat and glared at her.

"And now," Tantalus quickly yelled to get everyone's attention once again. "Before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue." His evil little grin appeared on his grungy face again. "Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring _this_ here." He waved his hand in the Cyclops's direction.

Murmuring broke out yet again and a lot of people looked over at Percy who was glowering murderously at Tantalus at the moment.

"Now, of course," our activities director started, making it sound like it was obvious to everyone. "Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release the beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous." His head turned toward the Hermes table as he said, "Hermes's cabin, possibly?"

I was suddenly glad that I was no longer head counselor. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Conner, both looked down at their plates, not saying a word.

Tantalus clicked his tongue, disapprovingly. "Come now, the monster may be able to do some menial chores." I wished. I didn't think Tantalus would let me off that easily, but maybe the Cyclops would be able to help take the load off of me. I wasn't too keen on working with a monster, but he seemed harmless enough and if it got me more sleep, I say, go for it.

Tantalus continued, "Any suggestions as to where such a beast should be kenneled?"

No sooner had he finished his sentence did people gasp. Tantalus scooted away from the Cyclops in surprise. There was a stunned silence that spread across the dining pavilion. Above the Cyclops's head glowed a green trident. I glanced back at Percy who looked just as stunned as everyone else, but it was slowly morphing into a mix of anger and embarrassment and a few other emotions I couldn't read.

"Well!" Tantalus roared with laughter. "I think we know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!"

The rest of the campers joined in with the laughter, save a few. I noticed Annabeth wasn't laughing. I wasn't laughing either. Half because I didn't find it funny. The other half was because I was the walking dead by this point in the day.

I slowly rose from where I was sitting as the Cyclops swatted at the now fading trident above his head, either oblivious to the laughter or because the glowing thing above his head was more concerning. I slogged my way back to the Apollo cabin, just barely making it under the covers before I passed out cold.

* * *

><p>The next day I was woken up just as the sun was rising over the horizon by Tantalus banging on Cabin Seven's door like the world was ending. Turns out I'd been so tired, or so <em>done<em>, I'd forgotten to clean up the rec room last night. So I was dragged out of the cabin at the crack of dawn still in my pajamas, just barely managing to put on a pair of shoes, to the Big House to clean up.

I fell asleep in one of the chairs in the rec room after I was done. Dan found me and got me back to the Apollo cabin, but my day had only just started. I also had to clean the stables, dust and vacuum the first floor of the Big House and do the laundry. On top of my other activities.

I suppose it wasn't entirely fair to say that Tantalus was causing my exhaustion. Part of it was certainly due to how much work I was doing around camp. The other half…well, I didn't want to slack off with my training with any of my weapons.

With Luke gone, I now trained one-on-one with an Ares camper for sword practice. Clarisse still dueled me with a spear. Annabeth still agreed to practice with knives, but she was much more cautious and she always made sure to have at least one other sibling with her when we did. And, of course, I went down to the range as often as I could to practice archery. No tree hoping, though, I was much to weary for that.

So, I guess I can't blame Tantalus _entirely_ for feeling so spent. I did like blaming him, though. It wasn't like he was completely innocent.

With Percy back now, he'd somehow found a way to worm himself into my life again. And it only took about a day or two. He requested to practice swordplay with the Apollo cabin one afternoon. We agreed even though apart from me, the rest of my cabin mates weren't as sword savvy.

I ended up sleeping through most of it. It wasn't like I wanted to, because, again, I was still pushing myself to train, but I'd hit the wall. A wave of pure fatigue dropped on me like a ton of bricks and I couldn't fight it. I blinked and the next thing I knew I was waking up to a sword pointed right between my eyes.

"Working hard or hardly working, _Victoria_?" Percy asked with a smirk. This annoyed me in a way that a younger brother would. What a smug little brat.

I pushed his sword away with my hand, standing and unsheathing my sword before he could bring his own back. I held the tip under his chin.

"Don't underestimate me, _Perseus_," I retorted. It was my turn to smirk. Percy's eyes narrowed.

"You're better than your siblings," he observed. I looked around the arena, not sure what I'd missed while asleep. The rest of the Apollo cabin was taking a water break and they look spent.

Percy took advantage of my distraction to push my blade away as I did his before counterattacking with his sword—a swipe to my head that I parried easily, my eyes going back to him.

"What happened to them?" I asked my eyes flickering back to my siblings before I jabbed. Percy sidestepped.

"I creamed 'em," he answered smoothly, lunging at me. I blocked. He pulled his blade away and thrust it down toward my head. I lifted my own sword to intercept.

"Somebody's riding their high horse," I commented.

"Well, my father did create horses from sea foam," Percy responded with another smirk before we pulled away, our swords scraping, creating a shower of sparks. We stood back, swords at the ready, analyzing one another.

"Aren't you a sarcastic one," I said.

He shrugged. "I try."

"Think you can beat me?"

He grinned. "Oh, I know I can."

"Sarcastic _and_ cocky," I remarked. "All right, ready when you are."

His eyes narrowed, but the grin didn't leave his face. "Ladies first."

I attacked and pressed him hard. The thing was, we were both trained by Luke, the best swordsman there'd been for centuries. But despite my six years of training under Luke's wing, Percy pressed back just as hard. Sword fighting seemed to come naturally to him, just as archery had come naturally for me. For him having only been here for one summer, I found myself getting a good workout. Better than the practice I did with the Ares cabin, no offense.

A lot of people's swordsmanship, compared to Luke, was just below par. But not Percy. And I wasn't sure if I found that exciting or frightening. Probably both, in all honesty.

By the time that my sword clattered to the floor with Percy's sword pointed at my chest, Percy and I were breathing hard and an audience had gathered. There were some cheers and some groans as money was exchanged.

Had this been a real battle, I would've kept fighting with the moves I'd learned from the Ares campers during our wrestling activity. However, seeing as this had been a duel with swords, I'd clearly lost.

Percy lowered his sword. I could see he was impressed in spite of the fact that he'd won.

"You're rather good," he commented as I picked up my sword.

"You're not so bad," I replied with a crooked smile, as I sheathed my own sword. "We should do this more often." I'd said this mostly joking—he would've been a great partner to practice with—but Percy looked like he was seriously considering it.

I looked around the arena for my siblings. Some had left with the crowd, others were chatting with some audience members, loitering. Tantalus suddenly appeared at my side. I almost pulled my sword on him.

"You're late," he chided, his dark eyes gleaming with that cruel amusement. I let out a half-grown, half-sigh and rolled my eyes.

Percy asked, "Late for what?"

"I have to go," I said, turning to look back at Percy, ignoring his question. "I'll see you later." Before he could question me more, I shoved my way past Tantalus.

"Temper, temper," Tantalus called as he followed me out.

* * *

><p>These past few weeks, I hadn't had any nightmares andor dreams. That or I didn't remember them. Tonight was different. As soon as I closed my eyes I was thrown into one.

At least, I thought I was. It was very disorienting because I was in the stables. Summer sunlight poured through the open doors and windows. A nice breeze blew in the scent of strawberries. The pegasi were in their separate stalls, taking a nap or chewing on some hay.

At first I thought that I was beginning to have black outs for some strange reason or another. That I'd woken up and done my daily things but hadn't even remembered. But I'd already cleaned the stables this week. I mean, I cleaned them twice a week, but I'd done that at least a day or two ago, so I was good for another day or so.

That's when I heard soft cooing coming from one of the stalls. Not sure what was happening, I crept over to where the noise was coming from, keeping as quiet as possible, just in case.

In one of the stalls, Silena was grooming one of the pegasi, softly praising the winged horse for how beautiful it was and such.

Someone cleared their throat from behind. Both Silena and I jumped and turned to see who it was. Standing in the doorway of the stables was…

"Luke," Silena exclaimed, nearly dropping her brush and blushing. So this was definitely a dream.

He gave her a crooked smile and slowly walked up to her, straight past me, hands casually in his pockets. He leaned in the doorway to the stall Silena and the pegasus resided.

"What are you doing here?" Silena asked, turning away from the pegasus momentarily to face Luke. "Where have you been? You just… disappeared at the end of last summer—"

"I know," Luke interrupted. "I know. It's…complicated. I…I wanted to talk to you about something, actually."

Silena looked even more flustered at this. "Wha—what do you mean?" She swallowed hard, blinking rapidly, shifting to her other foot. She gripped the brush in her hand nervously.

Luke pulled his hands out of his pockets and straightened up.

"Hey, calm down," he said in a soothing voice, going up to her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "There's no need to be so nervous." There was a hint of laughter in his voice.

"I'm not— What makes you say that?" Silena asked breathlessly as Luke dropped his hands and chuckled. Silena swallowed hard again. Her face was slowly turning red. "What did you want to talk to me about?" she squeaked.

Luke's back was to me, so I couldn't see his expression, but his shoulders tensed.

"Well, about that," he started, turning away slightly. "Just hear me out and don't freak when I tell you, okay? Promise me?" he asked, facing her again.

Silena took a step back, whether it was conscious or not, I wasn't sure.

"Hey, you can trust me," Luke assured gently, not making a move to advance. He kept his hands out of his pockets, at his side.

"Tell me," Silena requested in a hard voice, though she still looked nervous.

"Promise me, please, Silena," Luke pleaded.

She looked at him carefully. "Okay," she said slowly. "I promise."

Luke didn't hesitate, "I need you to do something for me. It's a really important job and you're someone I know I can really trust. I'm going to reach into my pocket now and pull out a bracelet." Slowly, his right hand went to his pocket. Silena's eyes watched his movements, her body was tense, the knuckles on the hand that was grasping the brush were white.

Just as Luke said, he pulled out a charm bracelet with a single charm on it. I recognized it instantly. I had the necklace version.

He held it out for her. She reluctantly took a step toward him and snatched it out of his hand, examining it closer.

"It's…beautiful," she murmured. "But this charm…is this…is this a-a scythe?" Her eyes went back to Luke.

"Yes, it is," Luke answered slowly.

The daughter of Aphrodite glanced back down at the bracelet. "Why-why are you giving this to me?"

"It's a magical charm," Luke explained. He reached up and pulled something from the collar of his shirt. I saw a gleam of some metal and figured it was probably a necklace like mine. "They'll let us communicate."

Silena shook her head confused. "Communicate? What—Luke, I don't understand. You're not coming back to camp? You're just visiting?"

"Yes, I'm just visiting. As I said, I needed to talk to you."

"Wait a second," A look of realization spread across Silena's face. She looked back down at the bracelet still in her hand. "A scythe. A scythe!" Her head snapped back up, blue eyes as wide as a doe's. She started to slowly back away from Luke. The pegasus whinned and shifted nervously, sensing her distress.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Silena," Luke told her in a calm, low voice. He took a small step toward her. Silena didn't move, but that was because she'd hit the end of the stall. Luke continued to advance slowly, carefully taking her hand into his when he was close enough.

My own heart stuttered in my chest. I didn't like where this was going.

"I really like you, Silena," Luke said quietly. "You're sweet, smart, and beautiful."

I could see the conflict in Silena's eyes and on her face, but her eyes suddenly flashed and hardened. She ripped her hand from his and shoved him back.

"You're working for Kronos!" she accused. The air grew cold as it usually did when you said his name. "I don't want this. Take it back!" She threw the bracelet at Luke. He easily caught it before it could hit his face. Silena had good aim.

"Silena, I picked you because I _trust_ you," Luke said. "Please, do this for me— No, not for me. For all the dead, the unclaimed, the ignored, because of the gods' ignorance." He held the bracelet out for her.

"You want me to spy on camp!" she hissed. "How can you think I'd do that?"

"I need to know what's going on at camp while I'm away. If I don't, things could break out into more chaos. More people will die. If you do this, you'll be saving lives." Luke's voice was soft and pleading. Hard to resist.

He reached out again, for Silena's hand. She jerked her hand away but Luke persisted, grabbing hold of it and gently slipping the bracelet into her hand, but not letting go.

"Why should _I_ trust _you_," she asked, though she didn't make a move to pull her hand away.

"I'm doing this _for_ us. I want a better life for _us_. You saw it last summer! Poseidon _used_ Percy because he didn't have anywhere else to turn. Percy could've died because of Zeus's arrogance." Luke took a step forward. About an inch separated them. And he still had Silena's hand in his. "Please, Silena." he whispered. There was a moment's pause as Silena contemplated this before Luke leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

I sucked in a sharp breath and turned away. I didn't want to watch. I couldn't. I felt tears sting my eyes. My heart felt heavy. The gods' voices I'd worked on for _months_ to dispel hit me full force again: _He doesn't love you. He's using you. He only said he loved you so you'd keep his secret. He _doesn't_ care about you._

"Okay," I heard Silena whisper, bringing me back to dream turned nightmare. I hesitantly turned back to see what was going on. They were still standing close together. Still holding hands. Silena gazed up at Luke. Her eyes were a swirling mess of emotions, doubt, confusion, worry. "I'll do it," she confirmed.

"Thanks, Silena," Luke said. "Thank you so much." He squeezed her hand and kissed her again, quickly, before letting her hand go and starting toward the stall door. "You won't regret it," he told her over his shoulder as he exited and the vision slowly faded.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh-oh, more drama for the two love-birds! Stay tuned to find out what happens next! I'll be posting Wednesday. Also, sorry this chapter is so late. I had writer's block. Also, it's another night where everything I write doesn't feel so hot.<strong>

**Also, the little "you're rather good"-"you're not so bad" thing came from BBC's Sherlock episode, **_**A Scandal in Belgravia**_**, because I couldn't find a different way to phrase it. Don't fix what's not broke, you know?**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed!**

**To FadedSunset: I know, it's a miracle! **_**Finally!**_** Well, I hope you've kind of found out…? There'll be more brother-sister bonding and maybe some (more?) hints about what it is/was like in future chapters, though…. Oh, well, thanks! I'm glad that it had such an impact. I was hoping it would. It was actually a last minute decision, too!**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	15. Fifteen

If it's Quite All Right

I sat up the rest of the night, thinking about the vision I'd just had. All my previous, unwanted fears came rushing back to me, invading my thoughts, haunting my mind. And I couldn't get rid of them. No matter how hard I tried. Because every time I dispelled a worried thought the scene of Luke leaning down to kiss Silena flashed before my eyes.

My heart ached more, my breath felt more labored, my eyes stung with unshed tears. My worries doubled, tripled, quadrupled. A never-ending spiral of doubt and misery. The gods' words resurfaced every now and again, reminding me they were there. And every single time it felt like I was being shot with a nail gun in my chest or my head.

Luke had kissed Silena to get her to cooperate with him. He'd used the fact that she liked him to get her to do what he wanted. So who's to say that Luke wasn't going the same with me?

That was a dizzying thought. I wanted my brain to come up with counter arguments to maybe ease some of my worry, my pain, but it was too caught up in the worry and pain to do so.

Staying up the rest of the night wasn't my smartest choice. Even if I had managed to fall asleep, I probably would've had dreams that would've woken me up anyway. So, either way, I was going to be exhausted in the morning. More exhausted than I usually was. The next day was also the day that the campers would compete in the chariot races.

I'd been looking forward to it, hoping that I'd be able to watch the Apollo cabin pull out a win and maybe I could get a small break for a little while. I would've helped, but I was so busy with chores and sleeping just to stay alive to really be of any help. Then I found out that Tantalus wanted me to scrub the bathroom floors during the races.

I was livid, to say the least, but he'd told me with Mr. D standing by and my fear won out. I couldn't appose Tantalus. I didn't want to be punished for speaking out against him, especially not by Mr. D.

So, when the campers went over the newly made race track, I went to the outdoor bathrooms with a bucket, warm, soapy water and a brush to scrub the floors.

A fog had rolled in overnight, and since the bathrooms didn't have doors to the inside I was basically sitting in a cloud while I cleaned. I had a moment of feeling like Cinderella, kneeling on the floor and scrubbing until it was so clean it sparkled. But I would never get a Cinderella happy ending. I didn't have sentient animal friends who could help me make a dress of the ball. There was no fairy godmother who would come grant my wish. No Prince Charming waiting to meet me and fall instantly in love.

Instead, I'd probably end up dying (according to Aphrodite and her comparison of my life to Romeo and Juliet's). Instead of friendly animals, there were monsters. Instead of a fairy god mother, there was only the evil step-motheresque character that was Tantalus, only he was far worse. And Instead of Prince Charming and love at first sight, there had been a slow-built friendship-turned-romantic only to be broken by a kiss with another girl.

Some fairytale.

I shook those thoughts off as I scrubbed. I hoped it was the fatigue getting to me. I liked to think I wasn't usually one to dwell on such negative thoughts. Instead, I tried not to think about anything in particular, like meditation. I focused on the sounds of the brush's bristle's grating against the floor, the sound of the water splashing around as I got the brush wet and soapy again. If a thought came, I'd let it run its course and then gently ushered it out.

Scrubbing was a tedious task, but I somehow managed to quiet my mind for the time being.

I don't know how long had passed, but I was about half-way through the girls' bathrooms (I always did the boys' bathrooms first) when someone cleared their throat and I looked up from what I was doing. Dan was standing in the doorway. He was littered with what looked like red welts, or spots, and scratches. Some of them were slowly oozing blood. I was on my feet in an instant, dropping the brush and going up to him.

"Oh my gods, are you all right? What happened?" I questioned, gently taking one of his wrists and looking at marks. Now that I was closer I could see they weren't welts, they were…holes. Like someone had stabbed him with a very sharp pencil over and over again.

"Stymphalian birds," Dan explained, gingerly pulling his arm out of my grasp. "I'll be fine, but Tantalus said he wanted to speak to you in the Big House."

"He does?" I asked. My voice must've sounded disappointed or pained or a combination, because Dan gave me a sympathetic look and nodded.

My brother headed off, back in the direction of the racetrack. I went to the Big House and stepped in on the middle of the conversation between Tantalus, Percy, Annabeth and his half-brother. Mr. D was nowhere to be seen. Tantalus's back was facing me, while the three faced him. They looked up when I came in. Tantalus stopped whatever he was saying to turn and look at me with a cruel smile.

"You…uh, wanted to see me?" I asked hesitantly stepping in and closing the door.

"Yes," He waved his hand toward the three across from him. "Please, have a seat." I slowly walked up to the sofa Percy, Annabeth and the Cyclops were sitting on, but it didn't look like there was enough room for me. If there was, I didn't think Annabeth would've been willing to move. She was glaring at me like it was my fault we were here. I didn't quite know where this sudden animosity had come from. She hadn't glared me like that during our training sessions, but maybe she got enjoyment out of beating me up, so she had no reason to glare then.

Instead, as I came forward, I hooked the leg of a nearby chair with my foot and slid it over next to the sofa, before sitting down on it.

"I was just finishing up telling these three their punishment for such horrible chariot racing," Tantalus explained.

"…okay? And what does that have to do with me, exactly?" I ventured.

His eyes sparked with a callous light. "You'll be helping them with dishes after the luncheon banquet," he said.

"_What_?" I shot out of my seat, my hands balling into fists. "I wasn't even at the event!"

"Exactly," Tantalus exclaimed, delighted I'd just walked into his trap. "You weren't there to help get rid of the Stymphalian birds that attacked. You _are_ an archer, after all, aren't you?"

"That's not fair," I objected. "I was doing what _you_ told me to do." Tantalus shrugged, uninterested in this fact and my anger grew. I took a step toward him. "I have done _everything_ you have asked of me for _three weeks_ now. And I haven't so much as uttered a complaint or stepped out of line. But I won't stand for _this_. I've already done my weekly kitchen duty. I don't see why I should have to do it _again_, when I was doing what _you_ _ordered_ me to do when those birds attacked."

Tantalus stood, taking a step toward me.

"Careful, girl," he warned, his rancid breath washing over me. I held my breath so I wouldn't gag, but didn't step back. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me. "You best remember who's in charge here. You wouldn't want to be expelled, now would you?"

"This a camp, not a boarding school," I spat, not willing to back down. I'd had just about enough, he was running me ragged.

"Maybe," Tantalus conceded, "but it's _my_ camp, now. My world, my rules."

"Why do you hate me so much?" I finally asked.

Tantalus grinned wickedly but a different voice responded to my question, "You know why."

I jumped, recognizing the voice, and spun around to see Mr. D standing at the entrance to the hallway. He slowly made his way to our group. I watched him carefully as he moved, as he walked past me, coming so close I could smell the grape scent coming off of him. Coming so close, I had to force myself not to back away and whimper. I was still deathly afraid of his vines, his constricting, suffocating vines. But I wasn't about to show that to Tantalus, who'd sat back down, or the other three still in the room.

Mr. D took a seat next to Tantalus, a Diet Coke popping into his hand. I continued to stand, not taking my eyes off him. I could feel my heart beat erratically in my throat. I shifted from foot to foot and my hands furled and unfurled.

"Keep objecting, Valerie—" Mr. D started after a long drink of his soda.

"_Victoria_," I corrected through gritted teeth.

"—and your whole cabin will be punished with extra work." Mr. D finished, ignoring me. "I don't think they'll like that very much, will they? Seeing as they didn't win the chariot race, either." He met my scathing gaze evenly when his eyes suddenly flashed with purple fire. I remembered when he'd first appeared to me in that weird flashback/dream. His eyes had glowed like that right before the vines had started to kill me.

I took a deep breath and swallowed my outrage and fear, lowering my gaze to the floor. I had to remind myself he was still a god. And what Chiron had told me. I wasn't in their good graces. I wasn't sure what that meant, but clearly, they had freedom to possibly turn me into a plant or an animal, invade my dreams again and/or torture me. I was still being punished.

Then it dawned on me why Tantalus hated me so much. Mr. D must've told him my involvement with Luke. And even though I was pretty sure he hated the gods as much as Luke did, if not more, he wouldn't hesitate to punish me like he was doing. Giving me all these chores, wearing me down to complete exhaustion by the end of the day.

Slowly, I sat back down, my whole body tensed like a cobra getting ready to strike, I had so much anger surging through my system.

"No," I finally managed to say, answering Mr. D's question.

"No, _what_?" Mr. D prompted.

My eyes snapped back up to him. "No, _sir_," I amended with difficulty.

"Good." Mr. D looked over at Tantalus. "Anything else to add?"

Our new activities director raked his eyes over the four of us before looking back at Mr. D. "I don't think so." He turned back to us. "You're free to leave. Just don't forget your duties. Dismissed!"

I shot up from my seat again and stormed out the door. I finished the bathroom as fast as humanly possible before dumping the cleaning supplies and going back to the Apollo cabin.

I stood near my bed, in the corner that was made at the head of it and the wall. For comfort's sake, I had asked for a bottom bunk that was pushed into the cabin's corner. I was glad no one else was there, probably at that stupid luncheon, because I started crying. I tried to make it quiet as tears poured down my face and my shoulders shook. I didn't want to lie down, so I stood, facing the corner and sobbed.

It was in the middle of my sobbing did I have a sudden epiphany and I abruptly felt stupid for feeling so sorry for myself, coming up with that stupid anti-Cinderella fairytale. I'd been miserable and down in the dumps this morning, but it was like my brain, with less water weight now that I'd cried it out, was putting it into perspective.

Luke had a new spy. That meant that I could go join him on that ship that I saw in my dream. There was nothing stopping me now. He didn't need me to keep tabs on the camp and it wasn't like I liked it much here anymore anyway. Tantalus was treating me like a housemaid and Mr. D was using my fear to keep me in that act.

Now I had nothing holding me here. I could go seek out Luke. Besides, it was beginning to look like we needed to have a _serious_ chat about our relationship.

I was already feeling better, just thinking about it. My tears dried up and I straightened up. It was about time I stopped wallowing in self-pity and did something about it. In fact, now that I thought about it, I was angry at Luke. I was done being in the dark about what he was doing. He had promised to tell me everything—well, it was about time he fulfilled that promise.

As I grabbed a tissue to blow my nose, I thought about leaving tonight. I'd need to somehow get my weapons, a bow and quiver of arrows would do nicely too. Oh, but then there was the small detail of even finding Luke's ship. I felt the necklace in my pocket. I could ask him, maybe, but I wanted my arrival to be a surprise.

Though, I did wonder why he hadn't contacted me yet. I'd figured out that he'd recruited Silena about a couple of days ago, so that'd given him a couple of days to contact me. Maybe he was busy. Either way, I was going to see him _very_ soon. One way or another.

I checked the time on the watch I'd gotten from the camp store. Good, I wasn't late for my ridiculous kitchen duties.

I was in the middle of blowing my nose when the door opened. I quickly turned away from whoever was coming in, because I knew I still had tearstains on my cheeks. My eyes were probably red and bloodshot, too. A dead giveaway.

They said softly, "There you are." I recognized Dan's voice. I continued to blow my nose before trying to rub off the tearstains from my face without it looking like that's what I was trying to do.

"H-hey," I stammered, my voice still sounding course. I only briefly looked at him over my shoulder, hoping he wouldn't notice I'd been crying.

"You okay?" he asked, stepping in and closing the door.

"Fine," I croaked then cleared my throat, cursing silently.

"Not coming to lunch? Big feast. Fried Stymphalian." I heard Dan take a few steps toward me. I still didn't face him, grabbing another tissue and blowing.

"Uh, I'm not hungry," I finally said, wiping my nose.

"I'm not opposed to dragging you there."

"Dan—" I tried, slightly turning so I could glare at him.

"You need to eat," he interrupted. Then his eyes narrowed and took a few more steps toward him. "You sure you're okay? It looks like you've been crying—"

I turned away again and said, "I'm sure." in a much stronger voice.

"Then face me," Dan countered. I sighed. He had me there. Slowly, I turned, keeping my head down. When I saw his sandals, I lifted my head, not meeting his eyes. He took in my red eyes and nose. I noticed he no longer had cuts, scratches or puncture marks.

"Talk to me, Tori," he said after a long silence. "I'm your brother. You can trust me. What's gotten you so upset?"

"It's nothing, really," I tried to object. Dan crossed his arms, pursed his lips and glared at me. "You know what's gotten me so upset—all these chores that Tantalus keeps making me do. He's trying to kill me!" It wasn't a complete lie. My tears had been from _all_ the stress: the chores, what I'd seen last night….

"Is that what he wanted to talk to you about at the Big House?" Dan asked gently, uncrossing his arms.

"Yes," I sighed, looking away again. "Kitchen duty after the _banquet_." I spat the last word with contempt.

Silence. He'd learned by now I didn't like to hear he was sorry. I turned to throw away my used tissue. When I turned back around to face him, his arms were open. I hesitated but walked into them and his warmth engulfed me. It was always strange to me that he always seemed so much warmer than I was. Dan rubbed my back comfortingly.

There was something keeping me here, after all. That was Dan. And all my other half-siblings, I supposed. Chiron, definitely, even though he wasn't here anymore.

I'd enjoyed my time in the Apollo cabin and it hurt to know that I would be letting that all go if I went to find Luke. I didn't know if they'd accept me back if anyone found out that I was with Luke. It wasn't like I was joining his side, but the people here wouldn't care. All they'd see was that I was a traitor who'd joined Kronos's side.

That's what I was, though. A traitor. A spy. But I was doing this for them. My home, my half-brothers and -sisters, my family, Chiron, my brother. I was going to try to stop this before it got too far, too out of hand. I didn't know if I'd be able to, but I had to try. Especially for Luke, because I loved him.

I sighed and pulled away from Dan, looking up at him.

"Why do you look so sad?" he asked.

"Whatever happens after today," I started, meeting his eyes. "I just want you to know, no matter what, that I love you. I will always love you."

"What do you mean by that?" my brother asked, worried now.

I didn't answer him. I hugged him again, only this time I actually wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm sorry that a rift formed between us, but I'm glad we were able to reconcile," I mumbled. And I was. I was hoping, by telling him this, that after all this was over, if I survived, or if he found out that I'd gone looking for Luke, he wouldn't hate me.

Dan's arms reluctantly came around me again. "Tori…" he tried. "I don't understand. You make it sound like you're saying goodbye."

I kept silent, but I could feel a new wave of tears filling my eyes. I fought to keep them down.

"Come on," I said in a thick voice pulling back but not looking at Dan, afraid I'd break if I did. "We should get to that feast." I headed for the door. Dan didn't follow, but I kept going, hoping he'd unfreeze soon. I was going to leave either way because I didn't want to give him time to question me.

"Tori," Dan finally said as I was half-way out the door. I took a deep breath and swallowed the sobs that were sitting in my throat before slowly pulled back to look at him. "I love you, too."

I managed a smile before continuing forward. Dan followed this time. The luncheon was in full swing by the time we got the dining pavilion, but no one seemed to have noticed our absences. The Ares table was too busy celebrating and praising Clarisse. The other tables didn't look as enthusiastic, especially after a monster attack, but it looked like everyone had been healed up and were enjoying the fried Stymphalian. Eating a monster. _That_ was a concept I hadn't heard of until now.

I couldn't tell you what they tasted like. Everything that touched my tongue tasted like cardboard. My body was starving, needing nutrients and energy. My mind was split between wanting to curl up for the rest of the summer and sleep, and going to find Luke. I turned out whatever was going on for the rest of the meal.

When it was time to clean up, I headed down to the underground work area with Annabeth, Percy and the Cyclops. The harpies were already there. They glared at me but said nothing. Still bitter over the times I'd dusted them, probably. Couldn't blame them too much. They hated working with me and I hated working with them, so it was a win-win.

The four of us stood in a line in front of a lava sink and got to work. Percy and Annabeth talked in hushed tones. I stood next to the Cyclops who seemed to be enjoying himself, sticking his hands right into the lava. I knew that they were fireproof, but it was so weird to see someone who looked so human do that. I'd gotten used to wearing the gloves and apron.

Even though it was miserably humid and hot, I was just glad that I didn't have to do all these extra dishes alone. I had a feeling, even if Tantalus hadn't punished the three next to me, he would've still ordered me to help clean up.

As I cleaned I absently watched as the Cyclops made toy boats out of cups and spoons. I also thought about how I might find Luke's ship without alerting him that I was. There wasn't much other options, was the problem. The ocean was _huge_. I didn't know where to look, for one. For two, I didn't even have any kind of transportation in the first place.

I sighed and lifted the plate I'd been scrubbing out of the lava to see if I'd missed any food.

"So," the Cyclops said suddenly, startling me. "What is your name?"

I blinked and looked up at him, his one big brown calf eye.

"Uh… Victoria," I stuttered, turning back to the dishes. "But I like to be called Tori." I looked back up at him. "What's your name?"

He smiled, showing off crooked teeth. "Tyson. I am Percy's brother." He seemed so giddy about this fact I almost smiled along with him.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Tyson," I said, turning back to my work. "Brother of Percy." I tacked on, trying not to grin. Something about how happy he was, was amusing in a very innocent way. I wasn't making fun of either of them. It was nice to have something to smile about. Tyson had found something. Maybe I should, too.

"Who is your dad?" Tyson asked.

I tried not to sound angry and/or spit his name through my teeth as I answered, "Apollo."

"The god of music…?"

I sighed. "Music, poetry, healing, archery, reason, prophecy, light. The sun." I don't know why I felt such a need to list off everything that he was the god of, but it was like this stupid compulsion that I couldn't fight. If someone didn't list all of them, I had to finish the list. It was an annoying habit I tried to stop, but found I couldn't.

"Do you sing?" Tyson continued. For some reason his question startled me (again) and I dropped the plate I'd been cleaning. I snatched it back up and tried to answer without stumbling over my words.

"Uh, yeah, I do," I mumbled, glad that it was humid down here and my face was already red. Also that he wouldn't be telling me I sounded like my mom, seeing as he didn't know her.

"Will you sing a song?" he asked in such a shy, timid voice I couldn't get myself to say no.

"Do you…have any songs you like?"

"Do not know names," Tyson said sounding so disappointed, like I could only sing a song he knew the title to. Still, it would've helped. I was suddenly blanking on any songs I knew, which were quite a lot.

"Maybe you could hum the tune? Or tell me the first few words…?" I suggested, racking my brain for a song, still coming up blank, which was thoroughly frustrating. Tyson seemed so sweet and innocent, I hated seeing him looking so down. I _wanted_ to sing for him now, just to cheer him up. See him smile like when he'd proclaimed he was Percy's brother.

There was a moment of silence and I looked up at Tyson, whose face had a look of concentration. I waited, watching him, only half-paying attention to the dishes. I really should've been focusing on that, though, because we were working with lava and not water.

This only lasted a few seconds before Tyson started hesitantly humming a familiar tune.

I looked down at the lava, and tentatively sang the first two lines. I was planning on stopping to ask him if it was the right song, but when I looked up at him again he was smiling again and nodding profusely. I figured that meant I'd picked the right song. It was _Can't Take My Eyes Off of You_ by Frankie Valli.

I sang kind of quiet at first, very conscious of Percy and Annabeth also being down there. But after the first two songs, I nearly forgot about them. Tyson and I were having a lot of fun, dancing in place to the rhythm and scrubbing the dishes as he hummed songs he'd heard and I sang them. He really liked the 1960's era of music. It was a good thing my mom had too. I was able to sing almost every song he threw at me.

It was nice to dance and laugh and sing. I felt very care-free. My life felt _almost_ normal. At the very least, I could pretend that Luke wasn't under the influence of Kronos. That our camp's border was failing. That Tantalus didn't hate me. That the gods didn't hate me. That my life was probably going to be short and end painfully….

I was ready for bed by the time dinner came around, but as I was heading back to the Apollo cabin as everyone else unenthusiastically went down to the amphitheater for the campfire and sing-along, Tantalus caught my arm.

"Going somewhere?" he asked with one his trademark wicked smiles.

"What do you want?" I deadpanned, too tired to care. His grip tightened frighteningly on my arm, for someone so frail. He waited. "To my cabin. The campfire isn't required."

"Well, it is now," he growled, dragging me toward the amphitheater. "Come along, Miss Williams." he said, a bit unnecessarily. I restrained myself from tackling him.

Since the Apollo campers were the ones leading the sing-along, we didn't exactly have a place in the stands. So I sat on the lowest seats, closest to the fire, and a little off to the side. I didn't know why Tantalus wanted me out here. Probably just so he could watch me suffer. I was definitely suffering, trying to keep my eyes open and failing.

In the middle of one of the songs someone suddenly came and joined me. I looked over to see Tyson of people. Ah…Cyclops, I suppose I should say. I looked back around at everyone else. No one seemed to notice, not even Tantalus, who I thought for sure would scold us both.

"Hey," Tyson whispered.

"Um, hey," I mumbled, turning back to look at the ground, my eyelids drooping.

"You do not sing with them?" he asked, pointing to the rest of the Apollo cabin onstage.

"Nah, not really…my thing." I took a deep breath to keep myself awake for another second or two.

"You have pretty singing voice," he complimented. "You should be there."

"I appreciate that," I mumbled, no doubt blushing. "But I don't really like the spotlight."

We lapsed into silence as the rest of the Apollo campers finished up the last few songs. I fell asleep. The intense heat of the campfire woke me up. I had to block out the light coming from it, it was so bright. Then I wondered what I'd missed. Something had excited the camp. And to such a degree, too….

"_We need a quest! We need a quest!_" the campers were chanting. Tantalus looked confused before his features hardened.

"Fine!" he shrieked his eyes lighting up like the fire only with anger and not eagerness. "You _brats_ want me to assign a quest?!"

No one seemed scared of him now.

"_Yes!_"

The campers quieted down and waited for him to speak.

"Very well," he finally agreed begrudgingly. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying." He smiled cruelly. "I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle! And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious." He regarded someone in the crowd with a belittling look. I followed his gaze to Percy and Annabeth. "The champion should be the one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp." he explained. "_You_ shall lead this quest…Clarisse!"

All different emotional reactions, the flames sputtered to match the mood, switching colors, rising and falling in height. The Ares cabin was stomping their feet and cheering for Clarisse.

Clarisse stood up hesitantly, looking like she wasn't expecting that and wasn't quite comprehending what Tantalus had just said. But she got over the shock quickly. Her chest swelled with pride and she held her head higher. "I accept the quest!"

"Wait!" Percy protested sounding almost desperate. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to _me_."

"Sit down!" one of the Ares campers shouted. "You had your chance last summer!"

"Yeah," another agreed. "He just wants to be in the spotlight again!"

Clarisse glowered at Percy. "I accept the quest." she reiterated. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"

The Ares cabin cheered again. Annabeth started arguing and so did her siblings. Then suddenly everyone was taking sides. Someone threw a marshmallow and more followed after that.

"Silence, you brats!" Tantalus yelled his tone nothing I'd ever heard before. All the fighting stopped and everyone stared at him in surprise. "Sit down!" he barked. "And I will tell you a ghost story." His voice became quiet, and loathsome. The campers who had stood up warily took their seats again. The aura that Tantalus was emanating sent chills down my spine. "Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the gods!" He reached up to put a hand on his chest. It was all too clear he was talking about himself. "This king was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe—just one little doggie bag, mind you—the gods punished him.

"They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children, just—like—_you_." He pointed his filthy, crooked finger at some campers in the audience, including me. "Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" he asked softly, his eyes sparking with a villainous gleam. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there was no hard feelings.

"No one noticed his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?" It was dead silent. The firelight glowed a dark blue, throwing shadows across Tantalus's face, making him seem scarier than I'd ever seen him before. "Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," he continued when no one spoke. "They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority.

"And do you know what? Rumor has it the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children." I had to stifle a snort at this. "And so…are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"

The amphitheater remained quiet except for the sound of the crackling fire.

Tantalus nodded satisfied. Then looked over at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."

Clarisse looked uncomfortable; she was even biting her lip. Some story to unnerve even the children of Ares.

"Sir—" she started.

"Go!" he thundered.

She bowed awkwardly and swiftly scurried off toward the Big House.

Tantalus turned on Percy again. "What about you, Percy Jackson?" he spat. "No comments from our dishwasher?" Percy stayed quiet even though it looked like he wanted to speak, his jaw tightening. Tantalus smiled. "Good. And let me remind everyone—no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries…well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well." He waved his hand and the fire extinguished. The campers stood and headed back to their cabins in silence and darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>So longer chapter, though the last bit was stuff you've already read. Anyway, sorry this one is so late in the day. I was hitting a wall with how to progress the story in this chapter and only just managed to get past it.<strong>

**Also, I hope you like my headcanon about Tyson. I looked up 72nd Street in New York on a map and just thought, because he lives there, maybe one of the businesses likes music from the 60s and so plays that a lot and Tyson heard them on nice days when they keep their doors open and such. I don't know, I don't live in New York so I don't know if that's exactly how it works. But, just a fun little idea I came up with.**

**To FadedSunset: I know, right? I was going back and forth, if I should do that or not and then thought, well, why not? Well, looks like you should start being worried about Luke. ;) Sounds like Tori's got it out for him. Silena's pretty safe. Tori knows that Silena can't help her emotions. Luke is quite the charmer. XD Yes, guilty is charged. I really love that exchange in the show.**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	16. Sixteen

Can Someone Stop the Noise?

Thanks to my little nap at the bonfire, I was wide awake. For now. I knew the weariness would creep up on me sooner or later. But for now, I was awake. And I was itching to leave. I just didn't know where to begin. How was I going to find Luke's boat without alerting him?

As much as I would've loved to surprise him, I didn't see any other options. I'd have to contact him if I was going to ever find the ship he was on. I was most certainly not going to wait for him to contact me. It'd already been a few days and I'd had enough of being run into the ground by Tantalus.

With my decision made, I slipped out of bed. I pulled some clothes on and packed another pair in a small backpack along with a baggie of ambrosia and asmall canteen of nectar. I opened my chest and grabbed my sword, strapping that to my waist, and my knife, putting it into a sheath that wrapped around my ankle. I would have to get a bow and quiver of arrows from the armory though. I wasn't going to take a spear.

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, carefully making my way to the door. Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about the floor being littered with extra bodies. But I was trying to be stealthy.

I reached up to grab the doorknob but paused and turned around to take one last look around the cabin. It was quiet and peaceful, full of soft breathing. I swept my gaze over the walls, adorned with orange quotes. I looked at the art and poetry on the wall painted with the chalkboard paint. I lingered on Dan's stuff, mostly quotes from musicals and plays.

I looked at Dan's bunk. My eyes stung with tears and my heart felt like lead. Making a rash decision, I went back to my bunk, setting my backpack down before searching for a piece of paper and a pencil in my chest. When I finally found one, I scribbled a small note for Dan, reminding him that I loved him and always would, no matter what happened next. I folded that up to make it look like an envelope before writing his name on the back and setting it on one of the little shelves that held the chalk closet to his bunk.

I retrieved my backpack and left without a backward glance.

The moon shone and the hearth burned, but the camp felt sickly. All because I'd been too late to stop Luke. How useful were dreams if I couldn't do anything about them?

I readjusted the straps on my bag as I headed out of the inverted U and tried not to dwell on that too much. I made my way to the armory, on the lookout for any harpies. I kept my hand ready to reach for my sword if needed. I did have my dagger, but that was only if it came to such needs. I liked the sword because it had a farther reach.

I made it to the armory without a hitch. Looking around a little unnecessarily, I slipped inside to grab a bow and quiver of arrows. I threw those across my back and started to head back out. As I was pushing the door back open, I spotted two harpies fluttering nearby. I couldn't tell if they'd picked up my scent or not. Though I figured not, because they weren't talking about eating me. I quickly retreated back into the armory, keeping the door open a fraction and hid behind it, looking through the sliver between the door and the frame.

I could go out there, sword blazing, but thought better of it. If they hadn't sensed me yet, then there was no need to start a fight. I could wait for them to flutter by, but there was a chance they would pick up my scent and I'd have to fight anyway. So my best bet was to shoot them with my newly acquired arrows now.

Moving slowly, breathing shallowly and keeping quiet, I unslung my bow and notched an arrow, aiming through the small crack I'd left. My arrow sliced through the night and tagged one of the harpies, who instantly turned to dust. The other squawked in surprise, looking around. I notched another arrow just as its eyes zeroed in on me. She opened her mouth as if to call out but I let my arrow fly and silenced her.

I carefully pushed open the door, looking around to see if there were any more harpies around. When I was sure the coast was clear, I dashed out, stopping to pick up the two arrows I'd used and then started to jog to the beach. I threw one arrow back into the quiver and kept one, notching it as I ran.

I stayed close to the edge of the woods, scanning the grounds to my right every few seconds for any more signs of harpies. I encountered none.

The beach seemed like a good place to contact Luke. I mean, I'd been there the last time I'd called to him and he was a on a ship, so being closer to the water seemed like a good idea.

I regretted my thought process as soon as I arrived at the beach, because several yards away two people were sitting on the sand, near the surf. They both had dark hair, but one's was a shade lighter than the other. One of them looked much younger, too, while the other looked older than any of kids at camp.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," I muttered. Who in the world would be up right now? Couldn't I ever just catch a break? I didn't have time to dwell on these thoughts let alone turn around or head into the woods and farther down the beach because one of the figures turned to look at me—the one with the lighter shade of hair—like they'd heard me from this distance, which I didn't think was possible.

The other figure turned, too, to look at what the one the first was. Even from a distance I recognized who that second person was. There was just no avoiding that boy!

With a groan, I put my arrow away and slung my bow over my shoulder as I headed toward the two. There was no point in turning around now. They'd both seen me. As I got closer, however, I realized that the first person who spotted me was sitting next to a wooden staff with doves' wings at the top and two green snakes coiled around the middle, standing up in the sand.

I stopped, considered this for a moment, and then turned around without a word, heading back toward the woods. I guess I would be heading farther down the beach after all.

"Hey, wait!" Percy called. I stopped again, trying to decide if I was going to do this. As I was contemplating Percy came up to me. I turned around to face him.

"What?" I asked in an annoyed voice.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Well, I'm…" I trailed off trying to think of a good excuse as to why I was heading to the beach heavily armed.

"Going to look for Luke," Hermes answered, appearing out of nowhere next to Percy. We both jumped.

"That argument has absolutely no basis," I objected, my face growing hot. "I have to go now." I started to turn but Percy spoke.

"And you went to the beach to begin your journey?" he questioned. "Is there a boat that I'm not aware of here that you were planning on using or were you just going to swim? How do you even know where—?"

"I know he's out at sea," I interrupted defensively, turning to face him again. "I had a dream about it." I paused a moment, my tone turning slightly more sardonic, "And, no, I wasn't going to swim, I was coming down to the beach because I was hoping I'd find a god willing to help me get to him."

Percy blinked, looking confused for a brief moment before it cleared. "That last part was sarcasm, wasn't it?" he said flatly.

"Give the boy a prize," I mocked.

"Hey, now—" Percy began, but Hermes stopped him.

"Tori, I was actually just finishing up here. Will you so kindly wait for me back by the woods, please?" he said, then turned to Percy without waiting for an answer from me, gently ushering him back toward where they were sitting. Percy reluctantly turned to follow, giving me one last weary look over his shoulder.

"Now, where were we?" Hermes was asking. His voice faded out as they got farther away. I slowly turned and headed back to where I'd been when they first saw me in a daze. Did a god just ask me to…_wait for him_? Even worse, it was Luke's father. Of all the gods, it had to Hermes.

I leaned against a tree and waited, watching Percy and Hermes exchange a few words more. I heard yelling and tensed, but recognized Annabeth's and Tyson's voices. I wondered about that, but this clearly had to do with Percy and not me. I kept in place, looking back at Percy and Hermes. Something yellow appeared at Percy's feet right before Hermes pointed out across the Sound. I looked to see if I could see what he might be pointing at.

Sure enough, against the darkness of the night, there was what looked to be a cruise ship heading across Long Island Sound. Its lights glowed brightly.

My heart soared. Could that be it? The ship that Luke was on? He'd been on one in my dream and based on the room, it'd been pretty fancy. A cruise ship would make sense. This was great news. Now about how I was going to get there…

"So, you're looking for Luke," Hermes said.

I flinched and pulled away from the tree. I almost reached for an arrow but managed to stop myself. I swallowed hard. He'd appeared next to me and had taken a few steps away when I'd started. His caduceus had disappeared. He looked like any other jogger from New York.

"Yes," I said simply.

Hermes appraised me for a moment before abruptly turning and starting back the way I'd originally come, toward the armory. I followed, not really sure what else to do.

"Aphrodite has told me a lot about you and Luke," Hermes finally said.

"Oh, great," I muttered. I suddenly remembered that Chiron had told me I wasn't on the gods' good side. I glanced at the god of thieves out of the corners of my eyes, wondering what he, _personally_, thought of me. What he thought about my relationship with Luke.

"What are you going to do when you find him?" he asked, looking over at me. I quickly averted my gaze.

"If you've been talking to Aphrodite then you should know," I said, keeping my eyes on the ground. I gripped the straps of my backpack. Hermes didn't respond. I sighed. "I want to save him. That cruise ship you pointed out to Percy, is Luke on it?" I asked, looking back up.

Hermes's gaze went skyward, a faint smile on his lips. "Eavesdropping?" He gave me a sideways glance and arched an eyebrow.

"What, no, I—" I stumbled over my words, my face slowly turning red. "I wasn't—I was too far away to hear. I saw you pointing—" I stopped seeing the mischievous grin spread across Hermes's face. "And you knew that." I turned to face front and let out a breath.

"Yes, it's the ship Luke is on," Hermes finally said.

"Did you tell Percy that?" I asked. It was my turn to lift my gaze to the sky. The stars winked and I imagined it as some sort of cosmic melody, the way my mom used to. Instead of teaching me constellations, she formed bars of music, the stars representing the notes. When the blinked, that was when the notes were being played. (The constellations came later, when I arrived at camp and started learning about Greek mythology.)

"No," Hermes answered a hint of amusement in his voice. Although, there was an air of seriousness about it, too.

"Lord Hermes, will you help me reach his ship?" I looked over at the god, who kept his gaze forward. He looked deep in thought. We'd been skirting by the edge of the woods and were passing the armory currently. I hadn't seen any harpies and still didn't.

We came to a slow stop near the stables. Hermes looked down, closing his eyes. He had his hands in his pockets. And still hadn't said anything.

I was chewing on the inside of my lip nervously. I was afraid he was going to say no, he'd done enough godly deeds for one night helping Percy and was done now. I mean, my backup plan was contacting Luke, which wouldn't be hard, but I was still hoping to surprise him. Maybe not for the most pure reasons—mostly out of spite. I couldn't get that image of him and Silena kissing out of my head. It was seriously starting to eat at me.

Finally, _finally_, though, Hermes said, "I will." He opened his eyes and pulled one of his hands out of his pocket. He pulled out the last thing I thought he'd have in there: an apple. "I think you'll find this useful." He threw it up into the air, it fell in an arch toward me and I let out a small yelp trying to catch it.

"Uh, thanks," I mumbled dryly, examining the apple. Bright red, looked juicy. Just like any other apple you'd find at the grocery.

"The ship won't be off the coast for very long, so you'd better hurry." Hermes told me.

I gripped the apple. "Thank you," I managed with more sincerity. I didn't know if it was just me or if it'd gotten suddenly awkward.

"Good luck," he responded with a nod before he turned and started jogging back the way we came. After a few paces he shimmered and disappeared. I spun back around and looked at the apple he'd given me, turning it around in my hand, wondering how exactly this was supposed to help me. That's when I heard a whinny from inside the stables. I froze and looked from the stables to the apple.

Looking around, just in case the harpies decided to suddenly appear now that I didn't have a god by my side, I walked up to the stables. I opened the door and crept in. It was really dim, but I was afraid to open the door any wider. I saw all the sleeping pegasi. But there was one pegasus—that was pure white by the way—that was wide awake, shifting in its stall. It nickered when it saw me. I wanted something a little more inconspicuous, but if it was my only way, I'd have to take it.

I took out my blade and cut the apple in half (one for now, one for later) and opened the stall gate and coaxed the pegasus out with one half of the apple. Every time it whinnied I froze and told it to be quiet.

As soon as we were out of the stables I gave the pegasus the apple and hopped on. I didn't practice pegasus riding nearly as much as weapons training, so I was really nervous, more so about falling off and into the ocean than getting caught, but it was part of the half-blood curriculum here, so I did know how to ride one. The pegasus trotted down to where the beach began, then started galloping to gain momentum. I held my breath as we took off just at the water's edge.

The flight was smooth, flawless, and quiet. As we got closer I finally comprehended this was a _cruise_ ship. It was huge! The hull had to be at least ten stories high, topped off with probably another dozen or so levels of decks with its balconies and portholes ablaze with light. The ships name was painted in big, black letters and highlighted with a spotlight. It was hard to read because of my cursed dyslexia, but I finally decoded it: _PRINCESS ANDROMEDA_.

Attached to the bow was a three-story-tall woman wearing a white Greek chiton, sculpted, so that it looked like she was chained to the front of the ship. Andromeda was young and very beautiful with a full head of flowing black hair, her expression, however, was that of pure horror. I vaguely remembered her myth.

We landed on the very top deck of the ship. I hopped off, grateful to be on solid ground, and fed the other half of the apple to the pegasus.

"Go back to camp. Thank you," I whispered. The pegasus bobbed its head as if nodding and whinnied before turning and flying off. I watched it fly away until it was too far to see anymore.

"Well, well, well," a horribly familiar voice drawled.

I spun around and came face to face with the _empousa_ I'd seen in my dream. She was dressed casually, jeans and T-shirt, and had the Mist making her look like the beautiful coffee-skinned girl with dark, curly hair and brown eyes.

"You must be Kelli," I said with feigned enthusiasm.

The _empousa_ grinned, her form flickering for the briefest moment. Her canines pushed down on her bottom lip. "You've heard of me." She held out her hand like you would for a man to be able to take and kiss the top. I took it, but turned it so it was a proper handshake. We both had fake smiles on.

"Saw you in a dream, actually," I said, pulling my hand away.

"Oh?" She asked, even though I knew she knew exactly who I was and how I knew her. Her hair sparked.

"Don't flatter yourself," I replied in a sickly sweet voice. Her hair sparked more.

"Well, Luke's told me _so much_ about you." It could've just been me, but she sounded resentful. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"The pleasure is all yours," I responded lightly.

Kelli's form flickered again. Her smile stayed put, but I could tell it was _really_ forced. Her eyes glared at me.

"Well, it's the middle of the night. I don't think Luke would appreciate it much if he was to be woken up—the past few days have been very long and stressful for him. So why don't I just take you to your room…" She reached out toward me, as if to grab my arm or something, but I took a step back, looking at her reproachfully.

Kelli laughed coldly. "Oh, you don't trust me. As well you shouldn't. But that last part?" Her hand shot out so fast it was a blur of brown. I felt it close around my upper forearm like an iron vice. "Wasn't a request." She growled these last few words, pulling me forward.

We walked side-by-side. Well, more like, she walked so fast I stumbled along trying to keep up with her.

I shifted my arm in her grip.

"Do you mind—" I started but broke off and bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood when her nails turned to claws that pierced right through my skin. It was almost like little knives had shot out from her fingers. I gave her a sideways glance, she'd changed into her true _empousa_ form.

We went down a few flights of stairs, and through a promenade full of closed shops. Down corridors with closed cabin doors. It was probably after the fifth corridor did I realize two things. The first thing: I hadn't seen anyone. Not one single person. The ship was totally silent. The second thing: the hallways looked _exactly_ like the ones I'd seen in my dreams, when I was being chased by monsters. My throat closed and I nervously glanced over my shoulder to make sure something wasn't following us. I wasn't comforted when I didn't see anything.

Finally Kelli stopped at one of the doors to one of the many suites, threw it open, and shoved me in. I would've admired the nice room, but I was too busy being angry.

"You know, I really don't think you should be treating me like this," I spat turning around to face her.

"Oh?" she challenged. "Why is that? Because you and Luke are boyfriend and girlfriend?" she mocked. Her hand—well actually fist—lashed out and hit my cheek. I could already feel the bruise.

Not expecting this from her, I stumbled back, almost falling. As I tried to regain my balance, Kelli came up, ripped the backpack, quiver of arrows and bow from me as well as my sword from my waist, and threw them across the room.

She smiled. "Well, what he doesn't know"—she grabbed what she could of my hair and threw me into the vanity—"won't hurt him." I grabbed the edge to balance myself.

"I could just tell him you did this." I said looking at her through the mirror.

She turned into her human form, her eyes becoming wide.

"I can act clueless." she said in a soft, innocent-sounding voice.

I snorted. "You don't need much help with that." I hadn't exactly meant to say it, it just sort of came out.

Kelli growled, the Mist dissolving, and came up to me. She grabbed my neck, spun me around and slammed me up against the wall.

"Big mistake!" she hissed, her hand tightening on my throat, cutting off my airways. As I coughed and gasped, I reached up and dug my nails into her skin. Her hand only tightened. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask, did you like my little _present_?"

My blood boiled with anger and hatred. My brother had almost died because of her stupid little _gift_! Because I couldn't say anything, I started clawing at her hand and arm with my nails with more force until she let go. Air whooshed into my lungs, almost painfully. The rush made me slightly dizzy for a moment.

Her fist came up and hit me again but this time it was right below the temple—about where my eye was—on the left side of my face.

I fell over, seeing, first stars, then black spots, she'd hit me with so much force. Before I could gather my bearings her foot connected with my stomach, I let out a cry of pain. Then she grabbed my upper forearm, pulled me to my feet, and twisted me around into the vanity again, except with so much velocity the mirror shattered, cutting my arms and face. I was hunched over the vanity, barely able to catch myself before falling face first into a pile of glass shards.

I looked over just in time to her fist flying down toward my head. I straightened up and her hand splintered the wood, breaking the glass into smaller pieces. Without hesitating, she lifted that fist and flung it at me but I deftly dodged, parrying her other fist. I kicked her in the chest and stooped down to grab my dagger from my ankle.

I'd just pulled it from my sheath and looked up to see Kelli lunge toward me. I rolled underneath her, jumping to my feet and spinning around, slashing my dagger at her. She easily dodged by stepping back.

She was fast, but thanks to my training with Annabeth, I was able to push her back. I treated her clawed hands as if she had her own knives. It was easier for me to parry, doge and counterattack that way. And even though she had two hands, my dagger had a longer reach.

I forced her into the defense, not allowing her time to launch an attack and just kept pushing her further into the room. I was hoping to corner her. Afterward, I wasn't really sure what I was going to do, but right now I was mainly focused on not getting sliced to ribbons. Been there, done that. Twice. I wasn't fond about doing it again.

I slashed again and suddenly Kelli went wayward with a surprised snarl. She'd tripped over my belongings she'd thrown in here earlier.

I took advantage of this, straddling her and pinning her arms down like the _empousa_ she'd sent me did, with one foot on one of her wrists and my other leg tucked underneath me, pinning down the other wrist. I leaned forward, pressing the blade of my knife to her throat.

Kelli growled and tried to pull free. I pushed the blade harder against her neck.

"Careful, Kelli, struggle too much and you might end up with a fatal wound." To make my point I pressed even harder. She hissed but stopped struggling. Her red eyes glowered up at me.

"Get—off—of—me," she spat through gritted teeth.

"Oh, don't like this?" I asked in mock sympathy. "I'm just repaying a favor."

Kelli's eyebrows furrowed slightly, her eyes narrowed, but her confusion cleared almost as fast as it appeared. "So you _did_ you like my present?" she sneered. "I hope she treated you well."

I gripped the hilt of my dagger, pressing the blade deeper into her neck, anger surging through me. I was angrier that her little minion had hurt my brother. If anyone had a problem with me, I preferred they addressed me personally—keeping it strictly between me and them. Going after friends, family and loved ones wasn't fair. They hadn't done anything to incur that person's wrath.

"Oh, we had a wonderful time," I told her. "In fact, she's in Tartarus right now. I'm sure she's having a ball." Kelli started struggling again, but I pressed my blade even deeper and she stopped again.

"So, what will you do now?" Kelli asked, looking frustrated that I'd put her into this position. "Go ahead, kill me. I'll just come back. Faster than you think, too. I don't think you understand just how _important_ I am." She smirked.

I looked at her carefully. She seemed pretty confident in her statement. Still…she could be bluffing to save her hide.

"Well, why don't we find out then," I said with my own smirk, pulling the knife away from her throat and raising it above me, preparing to stab her in the chest. She didn't say a word. I thrust my hand down, and _right_ before I pierced her skin, she roared, "_No!_" I was just barely able to stop the blade from making contact.

I laughed. "You almost had me there for a second, good try." She hissed. "I'm going to let you up now, but if you try and attack me, I _will_ send you back to Tartarus. You can tell your little friend, hi." Carefully, I stood, backing away from her, going over to lean against the vanity. I kept my dagger where I could easily stab her if she came at me.

"As much as I _hate_ you," she said as she got up. "Killing you would put me on Luke's bad side." She sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"That's cute," I said. "I didn't know monsters _had_ feelings."

Kelli glared at me again. "Oh, _please_—"

"I can't blame you, though," I interrupted. "He's quite handsome."

Kelli snorted and stalked out of the room, without another word, yelling, "Guards!" as she exited. Two more monsters appeared at either side of the door. _Dracaena_, snake woman. Their top halves were dressed in armor and they held spears. I sighed. A security detail? Really?

I wanted to ask Kelli about that, but she was long gone by now. Gritting my teeth, I stomped up to the door and slammed it closed. With a deep breath, I turned and leaned against the door. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off I could feel my cuts and bruises.

I limped over to my backpack and pulled out the half-crushed baggie of ambrosia. I broke off a small square, put it in my mouth and let it melt on my tongue. It tasted like my mom's homemade chocolate volcano cake a la mode. The throbbing from my bruises melted away and the cuts closed up. The puncture wounds from Kelli's nails didn't heal completely. I risked another square, much smaller than the first.

This time it tasted like my mom's homemade salted caramel. My head buzzed and I felt like I'd just developed a fever. I knew that was all I could take for now, but thankfully the puncture wounds closed up.

Exhausted, I stumbled toward the bed and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

><p><strong>All right, next chapter and pretty long. Kind of eventful. Tori's set the wheels in motion…. And Luke's going to be making an appearance in the next chapter! Not much else in notes.<strong>

**Title taken from the Jonas Brothers' song, "Paranoid."**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed!**

**To Alexis: Oh, this should be interesting, then. I'll be super excited to read your reviews from now until the end of the story, then [so many ideas, so many feels ;)]. Of course, I'm always super excited to read any of my readers' reviews ^_^ Anyway, I'm glad that my writing has really solidified their relationship so much in your mind. Absolutely ecstatic and giddy, actually. I always wonder what people think of them as a couple. OCs are always hard, you know? Ah, yes, well…I knew that already…but it's only because when I first got into fandoms, which was, like, a year ago, I didn't know what ship meant either and had looked it up. If that makes you feel any better…? I'm sure there are people out there that don't know what ship means and have just accepted the fact that it means some sort of pairing in a fandom. Before I looked up what it meant, I'm pretty sure that's what **_**I**_** thought, anyway XD**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	17. Seventeen

Lost Here in this Moment

The ship's whistle woke me up the next morning. There was an Australian man talking through the speakers, too, but I paid what he was saying no mind. Instead, I rolled over on the comfortable bed and looked out the window/porthole. The sky was a beautiful blue with white, puffy clouds dotted around. I looked at my watch. It was mid-morning, but outside it looked like noon already. The expanse of blue water and sky stretched on as far as the eye could see.

I looked up at the ceiling, blinking sleep from my eyes. All right, I was here and I'd gotten a good night's rest. Now it was time to find Luke.

I threw the blankets off me and hopped out of bed, grabbing my backpack on the way to the bathroom. I cleaned up, taking a nice hot shower and changing into clean clothes. The bathroom had come with complimentary travel-sized shampoo and conditioner bottles, and soap bar. So at least, I could clean up properly. I didn't think to bring any toiletries so I couldn't brush my teeth, but dental hygiene was the least of my worries.

I would've loved breakfast before charging those two guards at my door, but no such luck. I didn't think to bring nonperishables, either. I just didn't think I'd need them…for some reason. Coming last night had been a last minute decision, more or less.

No matter, I wasn't going to let two measly guards stop me from exiting my room. I didn't even know why they were standing in front of my door, anyway. I was pretty sure they were there to keep me in, not keep others out. The question was why Kelli thought it necessary to keep me in. I almost wished she was back here to explain to me, but thought better of that.

I slung the backpack over my shoulders before my quiver of arrows. I sheathed my sword and my dagger in another sheath on my right side—easier to get to if needed. The ankle sheath was handy if I wanted to keep it hidden but still on my person. That is if they didn't search me, but it didn't matter here.

I grabbed my bow and went up to the door. I opened it just enough so I could see out and examined what I was dealing with.

Two _dracaenae_, ready for battle, wielding spears. I could take them, but I really didn't want a big fight, a lot of noise, or any time for them to call for help. I closed the door as gently and quietly as I could before shouldering my bow so I had both hands. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door, letting it slowly swing open.

The _dracaenae_ regarded me for a moment through the corners of their eyes before turning them forward again. I tried to just leave to see what they'd do. They crossed their spears.

"Ssssorry," one hissed.

"You're not going anywhere," the other finished.

I stepped back and they uncrossed their spears. I glanced at the open spots in their armor one more time before simultaneously unsheathing my sword and dagger. While my left hand stabbed one _dracaena_ in the neck, my right hand swung my sword at the other _dracaena_, effectively beheading her. Their armor and spears clattered the floor as they both turned to sulfurous dust. I was glad for the carpeting.

I sheathed my weapons and pulled out my bow, notching an arrow. I looked up and down the hallway. The coast was still clear. I stepped out and went right, stepping over the pile of armor. I didn't know where exactly I was going, but if I could find a map of the ship and where the suite that Luke was, I assumed, staying in, I'd be golden. As it was, I didn't know either of those things.

About halfway down the hall someone turned the corner. I raised my bow and arrow as the other froze. She hissed, her red eyes flashing.

"Good morning, Kelli," I greeted, not lowing my bow.

She eyed the dusted _dracaenae_ behind me before her eyes went back to me, narrowing.

"Where's the suite with that coffin?" I asked. "The one you talked Luke into poisoning Thalia's tree in?" She took a step toward me a low growl building in her chest but I let my arrow fly. It hit the spot right between her feet. By the time she looked up, I had already notched another arrow. "I don't miss on accident. Now, again, where's the suite, Kelli?"

She sneered. "Would you like me to take you there?"

I smiled. "Oh, no, just tell me the number or name or whatever, and I'll find it on my own, thank you." She didn't make any notion she was going to tell me anytime soon. "Fine. I can always ask someone else. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy it down in Tartarus."

"Wait!" Kelli shrieked, just as I let my arrow go. Thankfully, I managed to misdirect the aim and it flew past her ear. She flinched, but was glaring balefully at me. I notched another arrow. "The admiralty suite. That's the name." she muttered through gritted teeth.

"Thank you," I said, starting toward her. There was no way I was turning my back on an _empousa_. Especially one that hated my guts. Suddenly, her eyes looked at something over my shoulder.

"Stop her!" she yelled, pointing to me. I didn't dare look at who she was talking to, but I was also afraid there was _something_ behind me. To confirm my fears, pounding footsteps sounded from behind, coming in my direction. My dreams of being chased by monsters through these very hallways hit me full force and my heart started beating double time.

I bolted forward, keeping my arrow trained on Kelli, skirting around her and turned down another hallway just as a spear flew past me and embedded into the wall. I'd managed a glimpse at the ones she was yelling at. They looked like ordinary people, but had to be half-bloods. My heart sunk. Luke had been busy.

Nonetheless, I kept running, hoping to find my way out of this maze, possibly to a map.

I encountered people now that it was light out, but they were passengers with glazed eyes who didn't pay attention to me as I sprinted past. I didn't hear pursuing footsteps, but I had no doubt Kelli was sending more half-bloods or, worse, monsters after me.

I also encountered other monsters, but they didn't seem to know that they were supposed to capture me, so I let them be. As much as I would've loved to dust them, I didn't think that would help my situation.

As I ran through hallways and past people, monsters and more demigods, I wondered if there was an alarm on this ship. And if there was, why Kelli hadn't sounded it. Maybe I wasn't important enough. Or maybe, more likely, she didn't want Luke to find out that she'd messed up. Or that I was even here.

Finally, I came across a YOU ARE HERE sign. I glanced around, making sure that I didn't have any attackers before looking for where the admiralty suite was in relation to where I was. I'd just found it when an arrow whistled past my ear and _thunk_ed right into the sign.

I looked behind me to see two more demigods. I didn't want to hurt my own kind, but I didn't want to be the one getting hurt either. Making a quick decision, I notched an arrow and shot at the other archer's shoulder. I shot the other one in the foot. While they were preoccupied I ran down the hall to get me closer to the suite I wanted.

I turned down a few more halls and made sure I was going in the right direction with another sign. I was just about to exit one hallway when a man and woman appeared, armed with nightsticks. Their eyes were glazed over and they looked like crew members of the ship, but they stood in fighting stances. I quickly turned, to go the other way but two more guards appeared.

Hurting mortals was a totally different thing to me. They couldn't take a square of ambrosia or sip some nectar and heal quickly from any wounds.

It was a good thing I'd learned hand-t0-hand.

I quickly shouldered by bow before turning toward the two closest to me. The man came forward first, trying to knock me over the head. I ducked and threw a right hook. He stumbled back and the woman came forward. Behind me—and I only knew this because of my ADHD—the other two were running to meet us. I had to act quickly or I'd be surrounded and put down, no doubt.

As she threw her nightstick down at me, I intercepted the nightstick and grabbed her wrist, kicking her in the chest. As she flew backward, I ripped the stick from her hand and spun around just in time to intercept another nightstick aimed at my head. My sword fighting skills kicked in, because it was close enough.

After my block, I pulled back wacking the guy over the head. He crumpled. The other guy came forward but I pressed my back against the wall so I could watch both sides. The two who had been closest had recovered by now. All three pressed closer.

I held my nightstick up, trying to determine how to handle this, looking back and forth frantically.

With a quick last glance at the two on my left, I lunged toward the guy on my right, grabbing his wrist and pulling him in front of me just as the two swung their nightsticks. They both hit the man. One got in a lucky shot and knocked him out for me, but suddenly I weight nearly 200 pounds more. My knees buckled and I almost took a tumble before managing to get the guy off me.

Two down, two to go.

I was about to engage when two hellhounds appeared behind the two guards. My heart jumped into my throat and my pulse pounded. I checked behind me and with nothing blocking that way as far as I could tell, I turned and sprinted down the corridor, shoving the nightstick next to my dagger, in case I encountered more guards.

As I came to the crossroads a spear almost brained me but I managed to duck and continue down the next corridor unscathed.

I didn't know why Kelli wanted me contained so badly, but she was going to have to do a better job than this. Though, I admit, I was getting one heck of a workout.

I almost passed another sign, but I didn't know where I was or where to go, so I came to a screeching halt, grabbing the sign itself to help me stop. I was panting as I searched for a new route.

Something growled to my right and I looked to see another hellhound. I backed up, quickly grabbing my bow and notching an arrow. Not giving it any time to lunge or even growl again, I shot it right between the eyes. It melted into shadow and I quickly ran up to grab my arrow. I looked up just in time to see the same two guards I'd encountered earlier, followed by two _dracaenae_. I don't know where the other hellhound had gone off to.

I ran in the other direction shoving the arrow back into my quiver. I shouldered my bow again and unsheathed my sword. I didn't want to waste arrows any more than I needed to.

I made it a pretty good ways, only a few hallways more from the admiralty suite when I hit a wall of bad luck. Literally. I somehow managed to get myself into a dead end hallway.

With a groan, I spun around only to come face-to-face with the two guards and _dracaenae_. They came forward pressing me further back.

Kelli suddenly appeared behind them, smirking. The Mist was disguising her again.

"Just give it up," she said sweetly, her words rolling over me. "You're outnumbered here. Sheath your sword and I'll take you to Luke."

Scary thing was, I almost did. Until I realized that she was trying to charmspeak me. I blinked and shook off my haze, glaring at her.

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me?" I asked, though it wasn't really a question. The fact that I had had guards stationed at my door, this silly goose chase was even taking place, and that she'd tried to charmspeak me into giving up just a moment ago told me another story.

Kelli looked irritated that her charmspeak hadn't worked.

"You're making this harder for yourself, demigod," she snarled, her hands balling into fists. The four advanced further until I hit the wall. I had to think of a plan fast. I would've used one of the guards as a shield again, but I got the feeling the _dracaenae_ wouldn't mind harming them.

I'd have to watch out for Kelli, because she was only scared of me if I had the upper hand. She _really_ didn't want to go back to Tartarus, and I could use that to my advantage, but I needed to neutralize the others first.

That left me with only one option. Attack the _dracaenae_ first. I might get hit with a nightstick, but hopefully not hard enough to knock me out or break anything. And hopefully I wouldn't be hit a lot, either. They wouldn't expect me to go after the second line of defense, so I had surprise working for me at the very least.

I gripped my sword, mapping out what I was going to do. I glared one last time at Kelli before charging with a battle cry. I pushed my way between the two guards, stabbing my sword in the eye of one _dracaena_ before pulling back and swinging my sword at the other, lopping her head clean off before she had time to react.

I tried to sheath my sword and pull the nightstick, but one of the guards hit my back so hard my knees buckled and I fell forward. Thankfully, I didn't accidentally fall on my sword. I fought through the haze of pain and rolled over, letting go of my sword. My gaze was fuzzy but I saw a blur of black and lifted my hands instinctively.

A shockwave of pain ran down my arms and the stick almost hit my face anyway, but I managed to stop it and wrap my numb fingers around it. My vision cleared just in time for me to push the nightstick toward the man and jab him in the stomach. With a grunt he hunched over and I ripped the nightstick from him, swinging it at the other guard's leg as she came forward.

With a cry of pain, she listed to her right. I hopped to my feet and hit her over the head before turning toward the other guy, who was starting to stand up. I threw the nightstick into my left hand and brought it down onto the back of his neck, where it meets the head. He collapsed.

I couldn't make sure they were both down for good, though, because Kelli was still there. I started to turn toward her, but she was a blur of white as she came at me simultaneously, slamming me into the wall so hard I saw stars for a good 30 seconds. When my vision cleared, she was right in my face, red eyes gleaming, fangs bared. She had pressed her arm up against my throat, holding me to the wall.

"Not so hot now, are you, _half-blood_," she growled.

I chuckled and she pulled back slightly, confused. I looked down between us and she followed my gaze to see my dagger poised to run her through. I'd pulled it while she'd been talking. Kelli had made the mistake of not pinning my arms down.

I put pressure on the blade and she backed off. I rubbing my throat but smiled smugly at her. I lifted my dagger to her face. I took a moment to catch my breath and with a two-fingered salute, I dashed off, sheathing my dagger, scooping up my sword and the nightstick I'd dropped when Kelli had attacked me.

"I'll just sent more monsters after you!" she yelled behind me.

I looked over my shoulder at her as I sheathed my sword, then my nightstick, and called back, "Go ahead!"

I found another YOU ARE HERE sign and quickly looked over it. I was close now. _Very_ close.

I encountered two more hellhounds, but easily dusted them with my sword. I passed another crossroads and a _dracaena_ tried to throw a spear at me, but I easily ducked and continued on. I heard her scaly legs scrape against the carpet as she followed me, but I was so close I simply ran on.

Finally, I turned down one last hall and stopped, despite the perusing _dracaena_, my lungs on fire and my muscles screaming, but triumphant. I'd found the admiralty suite!

There was a set of closed oak doors at the end of the hall. I wasn't sure that Luke was even in there, but I didn't care. I was going in one way or another. If he was there, great. If not, then I'd wait. I'd just run here, dodging monsters, demigods and cruise ship workers with nightsticks on an empty stomach. I think I could manage some waiting.

Sheathing my sword, I walked up to the doors, grabbing both handles and throwing them open. Kind of dramatic, I admit, but I was feeling great.

As it turns out, Luke was inside. He'd been lounging on one of the two sofas in the middle of the room, feet up on the coffee table. He stood when the doors opened, his eyes wide.

I smiled at him. "Luke," I greeted with feigned cheerfulness. Behind me I heard the _dracaena_'s snake legs chaffing the carpet. Without breaking eye contact I grabbed my bow, nocked an arrow and angled my body so I could aim and shoot properly, still without looking away from Luke. I let my arrow fly and heard the satisfying sound of her armor hitting the floor before turning back to fully face Luke. "We need to talk." I finished, shouldering my bow again.

Luke looked stunned. His jaw had gone slack and his eyes kept flickering back and forth between me and the monster I'd just dusted without even looking.

Suddenly, two javelins were in my face and that's when I noticed the others. How I hadn't before was beyond me, because they were, like, right in front of me.

Percy, Annabeth and Tyson stood a few feet away from me. Three chairs were in front of them. The ones holding the javelins on either side of the three were two half-bear, half-human monsters. Their top half was the bear part, and the bottom half the human part, clothed in jeans.

I looked back at Luke.

"Well?" I asked. "Anything to say to your girlfriend?"

"You cut your hair," Luke stated, still in shock.

I pushed the javelins away from me in annoyance and stepped inside the suite. The half-bear things seemed a little stunned at what I'd just done to stick their weapons in my face again.

"Oh, wonderful," I said, rolling my eyes. "We haven't seen each other in months and _that's_ how you greet me?" I snorted and looked at Annabeth. "Can you believe that?" She looked back at me too bewildered to glare or be angry or answer, for that matter.

Luke blinked and took in the scene before him, his shock fading. He regained composure, closing his mouth and straightening up.

"Uh, Tori—" he started.

"Oh," I exclaimed. "Am I…interrupting something?"

Luke narrowed his eyes, eyeing my bow, sword, dagger and newly acquired nightstick. "Is that a trick question?" he asked, meeting my eyes. He looked nervous again.

I smiled without humor. "You know me so well." Luke opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "Just tell your little pet _empousa_ to chill. I'll be waiting back at my suite. We have some things we need to discuss." I gave him a pointed look before starting to turn, to exit, but Annabeth stopped me.

"So, what?" she started barely able to contain her fury. "You're just going to leave us here?" I turned back around to face the three. Annabeth, obviously, had finally gotten over her shock. She was glaring daggers at me with those sharp grey eyes. Percy still seemed to be trying make sense of the situation. I didn't look at Tyson, because I felt bad enough already.

"There's not much I _can_ do," I told her, my eyes flickering at the bear monsters. I didn't think I'd be able to take them. Too big. Too many people to keep track of. "Besides, this isn't my quest."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" questioned Annabeth, irritated on top of angry.

Percy spoke, "She thinks we're going to make it off the ship." _Way_ more observant than I gave him credit for. "I don't know if you hadn't noticed, but we're"—he gestured to Luke—"not on very good terms right now. He tried to kill me last summer? Remember?" His green eyes flashed as if daring me to forget.

I looked down, playing with the hilt of my sword. "It's complicated," I reminded him. I looked back up and continued on, not letting him speak. "Besides, I…have a feeling you'll make it off alive." My eyes flickered to Luke. He seemed to be studying me, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration.

"Oh, a _feeling_, that's _wonderful_," Annabeth griped, rolling her eyes.

I shrugged, pretending not to notice her sarcasm. "God of prophecy's daughter." I gave Luke another pointed look before I turned away again. No one tried to stop me. "Good luck." I said, not looking back.

"To me or Luke?" Percy asked.

"Both of you," I called before turning the corner. Looks like I'd be waiting after all.

I went in search of food. When I found it, I cut ahead of everyone and took care of any monster or demigod that had a problem with that by brandishing my sword and glaring at them. I didn't dust or hurt anyone else, but it did get them to back off. I was ravenous.

Once I had my fill, I made my way back to my suite and waited for Luke. I kept the door open and sat on the edge of the bed, watching it. I took my backpack off and set my bow, quiver of arrows and nightstick aside, but kept my sword and dagger. Couldn't be too careful on a ship full of monsters.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but suddenly alarms started blaring. I hopped off the bed and poked my head out the door, looking around the hallways. Red lights were flashing. A group of monsters and demigods rushed past one end of the hallway. I figured Percy, Annabeth and Tyson were making their escape.

I went back into my room and continued to wait. It was only a few minutes after the sirens and red lights stopped did Luke show up in my doorway.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you knew I was going to let them escape and instead focus on the fact that I'm happy to see you," he said with a crooked smile.

I smiled back, but then remembered Silena and my smile faded. Luke came toward me, seeing this.

"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to put a hand on my shoulder. I stood up and deftly moved out of his way, going to my right and turning to face him. He looked at me cautious and confused.

"Tori?" he asked slowly, coming toward me. I moved again, going to the door and closing it.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, not turning to face him. "I just…" I wet my lips and turned around, veering back because Luke had come closer. Like, inches-away-from-me closer. His blue eyes swirled with worry. His eyebrows were furrowed, his mouth set in a small frown.

"Please, tell me what's wrong," Luke whispered.

"Silena," I managed to whisper back, my eyes filling up with tears. Realization dawned on his face. We stood there, inches apart, shallow breathing, for what felt like an eternity. Luke was deep in thought as he gazed at me. I couldn't break my eyes away from his. They were so blue, so beautifully blue.

Luke blinked, focusing in on me. He looked… sad. My heart dropped and my stomach did flip-flops.

"H-have you been using me, Luke?" I asked in a shaky, quiet voice.

"We've been over this," he reminded me in a soft voice, no hint of anger. It was comforting. "I _promise_ you, I haven't. I'm not. Why do you keep doubting me?" I could hear the hurt beneath the surface and felt my own hurt swell in my chest.

I averted my gaze and gripped one wrist with my other hand, remembering the vines, the gods' words. Luke didn't miss this.

"Did something happen when they talked to you?" he asked carefully, slowly putting the puzzle pieces together.

"Th-th-they wore me down," I stuttered, my voice still weak and shaky. "A-and planted the seed."

Luke was silent for a long time. I looked at his hands, which had turned into fists. I glanced up at him. His blue eyes blazed with anger and hatred, but not toward me, toward the gods, no doubt. When he saw me looking, his eyes softened, his hands unfurled. He lifted his hands to caress my face or put them on my shoulders, to comfort me, but I thought about him kissing Silena again and shifted away from him.

"Please, don't," I said quickly, looking away.

"Tori," he said gently, but his voice was pained. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, my own heart aching. I felt his fingertips brush my cheek, but I turned my head away further, half-heartedly pushing his hand aside, and reopened my eyes.

"Don't," I told him quietly.

"Tori," he said, his voice still soft, his hand coming toward my face again. I took a step back, hitting the door, turning my head away even more. There was a moment's pause before Luke tried yet again—very slowly, with both hands. I didn't try to move away this time. I wasn't quite sure why.

Luke's hands were warm, rough and calloused from his sword fighting, but gentle, as always, as they held my face. He turned my head so he could look at me but I refused to meet his eyes.

"_Victoria_," he said in a quiet, but firm voice. I finally, reluctantly, looked up at him. His wintery blue eyes were swirling with so many emotions I couldn't pull out any singular one to be able to get a read on what he was feeling. "I'm sorry." he told me, all the emotion in his eyes spilling out into those two words. He let them sink in before he began speaking again, his voice just above a whisper, "I made a mistake. And I'm sorry. I will do whatever you want me to do to make it up to you. I love you." His eyes tightened and his voice dropped to a ragged whisper, "I hope that you'll believe me when I say that."

Then he started leaning forward. For a scary moment, I thought he was going to kiss me and I started to pull back, letting out a noise of protest. Luke paused a moment, too close to me for me to see his eyes. My hands had come up to pull his hands away from my face. We stood there like that for a long moment before Luke continued forward, quickly, but instead of kissing me he kissed my forehead. Then he let go of me and took a step back.

His eyes gazed at me searchingly. Worried.

I thought about what he'd said. He didn't try to make excuses or explain what happened or anything. He'd simply apologized and reassured me. I couldn't help but feel I could trust that. He'd even said he'd make it up to me, heal what was broken.

"I accept your apology," I said slowly. "But…" My voice wavered.

Luke's expression looked a hundred times more worried. "But…?"

It was now or never. I sighed heavily, looking away. "Don't do this," I whispered, closing my eyes to keep the tears at bay.

"Do _what_?"

I reluctantly looked back up at him, wanting to see how he'd react. "_This_," I whispered, gesturing around the suite. "This…this ship, the monsters and demigods." I paused and swallowed hard. "Kronos." The room chilled and I tried not to shiver. Luke finally understood and his walls came up, his blue eyes hardening, like a flash-freeze. His hands fisted as his side.

"I can't do that," he said carefully, in a low voice. "I _am_ sorry, and I _do_ love you, but I…I can't do that. I'm not going to stop what I'm doing here. The gods don't _deserve_ the thrones they sit on any longer. How could you even ask me that?"

"Because he's using, Luke," I said, my voice shaking slightly. I didn't want him mad at me, but better that than losing him for good. "Kronos is _using _you, and he's going to dispose of you as soon as he gets what he wants."

Luke took a step back, clenching his jaw.

"Don't say that." He looked away, looking anguished.

I took a tentative step toward him, reaching out. "Luke," I said uncertainly.

"If you're not with me…" He looked back at me, conflicting emotions in his eyes. He couldn't seem to finish the sentence, but I understood what he meant. I dropped my hand and looked down, tears flooding my eyes. I couldn't stop some from falling, but I quickly wiped them away before looking back up at Luke.

"What are you going to do?" I questioned, choking back a sob.

This confused him and some of his anger cleared. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, the only way I see it, you have to kill me now," I told him. "If I'm not with you, then I'm your enemy." I finished for him. "I can't go back to camp because Tantalus said he'd expel anyone who defied him. I don't have anywhere else _to_ go. You can't just…house enemies on your ship without your leadership being questioned. So, you have to kill me."

Luke looked stricken at the very thought, which was reassuring. That meant he still loved me. At the very least cared about me. It meant he wasn't _so_ angry that he _wanted_ me dead. At the same time…

"No," he said, swallowing hard, his face hardening. "I'm not going to kill you." His voice lowered to a whisper. "I could _never_—" He looked away, hands fisted so tight his knuckles were white. Taking a deep breath, he looked back at me. "I have to go. I have to…think about this. We'll talk about this later."

I couldn't get myself to say anything as he brushed past me and out the door. I turned as soon as the door closed and tried it. Somehow, it'd been locked. I tried opening it again, still no luck. I stepped back in shock, looking at the doorknob.

He'd just locked me in.

If he wasn't going to kill me, and he considered me his enemy, then…

I slammed my hand against the door, trying the knob again with my other hand.

"Luke!" I yelled, even though he was probably out of earshot. I kept trying the door, slamming my fist against it, calling his name, but all in vain.

When I finally came to my senses, I stopped, my fist resting on the door, my hand still grasping the knob. Tears pooled in my eyes and I gritted my teeth, gripping the door handle harder. I didn't want to cry, but the tears overflowed anyway.

A prisoner.

I'd become a prisoner.

* * *

><p><strong>Super long chapter! Whoo! Also, to explain the locking of her door, I came up with this headcanon that, because Luke is able to unlock doors with just a touch and some concentration, he's able to lock them the same way. I don't know makes sense to me, anyway. Not much else in notes pertaining to the story.<strong>

**NEWS: Spring semester is starting for me this coming week, so my updates will probably be more sporadic and take **_**much**_** longer to post. I will try as hard as I can to stay on this posting schedule (I might be able to post Sunday), but college comes first and I'm very studious. So, I hope that you'll be patient and wait for me.**

**Remember that I have a section on my profile page that you can check if I miss a date, which will be most likely, or am taking too long, and you want to know what's the word.**

**Title taken from Miley Cyrus's song, "Stay."**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	18. Eighteen

We are the Foxes

After I calmed down enough to think straight again, I decided wallowing in self-pity would do me no good. It didn't do me good at camp, so it wasn't going to do me any good here. Instead of doing that, I gave it my all to break down the door.

I tried kicking where the door knob was, but no such luck. I wasn't strong enough. I'd probably have to kick it a million times more before it'd break open. Then I tried my sword. I only managed to nick the wood, maybe get half an inch of my blade into the door, and that was running from across the room, like I was jousting the thing. Lastly, I tried my dagger, poking around at the doorknob, not really sure _what_ I was doing.

The thing about this being a cruise ship was the fact that this door locked _only_ on the inside. How Luke had managed to lock it from the outside _and_ make the door handle useless to me was a mystery. Well…I had an idea. He'd told me once that he had the ability to unlock anything with a lock by simply touching it and concentrating. It was like he could sense the mechanisms and make them move how he wanted them to, to unlock. Something he'd inherited, being the son of Hermes. I guess that power worked in reverse.

I probably spent a good hour working at the door. But it didn't budge. This ship was expensive, made with the best wood money could buy. That meant it was strong.

With a shout of frustration and one last kick near the handle I went to sit on the edge of the bed, glaring at the door angrily, with my arms crossed over my chest.

I just couldn't believe this was happening. I mean, it wasn't like I was expecting a happy reunion between Luke and me, but I hadn't been expecting _this_, either. In all fairness, I didn't know what I was expecting from him. Bringing up a subject like turning his back on Kronos could go so many ways, I didn't even think Apollo could precisely predict what would happen. (That's an exaggeration. I had a feeling the gods knew a lot more than they were willing to tell. And Apollo being the god of prophecy, well that made him, like, the supreme seer of all things. But was I going to admit that? No, I hated him.)

Once my anger died to a small simmer, I grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows. I went over to the vanity, pulled the chair out, sat down, and put my feet up on the surface, the glass crunching under the soles of my feet. Then, I started shooting arrows at the door.

I'd shot sixteen and had just notched another arrow when I saw the door start to open. Without really thinking, I aimed my arrow at the doorframe, at average height, on the side that the door was opening. The person froze before they stuck their head inside, first looking at me before looking to their left and seeing all the arrows currently sticking out of the door.

"Luke," I greeted crisply. Luke slipped inside, ducking under the arrow I'd shot at him and closing the door again.

"You're usually a better aim," he commented, glancing at the door again. I notched another arrow and shot at the same arrow in the doorframe. It split the first arrow perfectly in two. Luke flinched. I set my bow and arrows aside, standing up and going over to him. I took his hand, ignoring the little spark I felt when I touched him, and pulled him over to where I'd been sitting.

"See it?" I asked, pointing at the door.

"See what?" he asked.

I moved him so he was standing where I'd been. It took him a moment but realization finally dawned on him.

"Andromeda, the constellation," he said. "Fitting."

"I thought so, too," I replied, going over to the door, pulling the arrow in the doorframe out first. "It would've been a waste of good arrows, had I been aiming for one point." I explained as I started to pull out the rest. Luke came over to help me. I could feel the tension between us, pulled taught like a piano string. I just wasn't sure how I was going to broach the subject. I think Luke didn't either and that's why he wasn't saying anything.

He tentatively handed back the bundle he was holding, careful not to touch me or make any kind of skin-to-skin contact.

"Thank you," I said in a clipped tone, going over to my quiver and putting them in.

"Tori—" he started, but I cut him off.

"You said anything," I reminded quietly, lifting my head and letting my arms drop, but keeping hold of the quiver of arrows. My back was to him, but I didn't make a move to turn around.

"I know what I said," Luke replied quietly. "I shouldn't have told you I would do anything. I misled you, and that was wrong of me."

"Apologizing again?" I asked in a whisper. For some reason I found it amusing. Apologizing for his apology.

"That seems like the only thing I _can_ do," he whispered back, haltingly, like he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. Again.

My lower lip quivered as tears formed in my eyes and I silently cursed my emotions while swallowing sobs. "Do you love me?" I asked in a thick voice, turning around to face him. "You kissed Silena to get her to do what you wanted. How am I supposed to know you haven't done the same thing with me? Is there something between you and me? Has our whole relationship just been built on lies?"

"No, Tori…" He approached, reaching out to put his hands on my shoulders, but I stepped back, shifting to avoid his hands. He froze, taking a deep breath and stepping back as well. His hands fell to his side, but I could see the tension in his body. There was torment in his eyes, agony on his face.

I hated hurting him like this, but he'd hurt me, too. I wasn't saying that I was exacting some kind of sick revenge, by hurting him, but…all was fair in love in war. Wasn't that the saying? Ironically enough, it was turning out to be both.

"I _do_ love you—" Luke tried in a gravelly voice.

"Then why won't you stop what you're doing? You said 'anything', Luke. You said you'd do anything to prove that you loved me. Well, that's what I want. I want you to turn away from Kronos. I want you to believe me when I say that he's _using_ you."

"I can't do that!" Luke snapped, his hands fisting. His faced was pained, conflicted. "I can't…do that." he repeated quieter, breathing hard.

I let out a growl and turned away from, feeling frustrated again. It was like working at breaking that darned door down. I wasn't getting anywhere and all I was doing was wounding it with nicks and small cuts. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes trying to think. Even if he didn't love me…even if he didn't, I'd fallen in love with him. Maybe it wasn't fair to me to keep trying to stop him from doing this, maybe he didn't deserve it, if he _was_ just…using me. But I still loved him and I didn't want to see him destroy himself doing this.

Some small part of me just couldn't believe that he'd used me, despite all the doubt crowding my mind. That small part fought against the doubt, not believing that our whole friendship had been a lie. He'd told me some of his deepest, most sacred secrets. He'd revealed himself to me, his darkest moments. And I, in turn, had done the same. That's how this worked, right? That's how relationships worked?

Having gone through so much together, I had to believe that Luke, at the very least, had to care about me. Maybe he didn't love me romantically, that I could bear, but there was still a bond between us. There had to be _something_ there, and if I could find it, then maybe I could grab hold of it and use it save him.

Slowly, I turned to face Luke again. "Then tell me," I croaked, for I'd been holding back sobs. I lifted my gaze to meet Luke's. "Keep your other promise, tell me everything."

Luke seemed to relax ever so slightly, but his jaw clenched and unclenched, like he was nervous.

"Okay," he said, nodding, then hesitated. "I…I have a lunch set out for you, if you'd like. I thought you might be hungry. I can explain while you eat."

I gazed at him for a long moment. Food did sound good. All this stress and anger and working at the door had worn me out, I needed to replenish my energy reserves. My rumbling stomach sealed the deal. It was so loud, Luke heard it. I blushed and glowered at nothing in particular. Luke cracked a small, tentative smile of amusement.

"Lead the way," I muttered in a monotone. Without hesitation, Luke turned and headed out. I followed quickly, going to stand next to him. At one point, our hands brushed. A zing of electricity raced up my arm and my heart stuttered. I pulled my hand to my chest, holding it with my other one, creating more room between me and Luke by practically pressing myself against the wall. I looked over at him accusingly.

Luke's own hand had gone up to rub the back of his head.

"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled quickly as he nervously met my glare. He lowered his hand, sticking it in his pocket. I kept my distance and crossed my arms over my chest tightly, shifting my gaze forward.

We arrived on the sixth deck from the very top of the ship, which had a balcony of sorts there. It overlooked the bow, and from every direction, miles and miles of deep crystal blue sea and a light blue sky stretched.

Sitting near the railing was a small table for two. It had a white table cloth. In the middle of the table sat a small, clear vase of flowers, so you could see the stems. Only on one side was there a plate of food—a gourmet grilled cheese, with ham and slices of tomato, with a small bowl of tomato soup on the side, garnished with a sprinkle of cheese—and utensils. There was also only one tall, cold glass of water. I figured that meant Luke had already eaten.

It was just as well, though, because he was going to be doing all the talking anyway.

As we approached, Luke went to pull out the chair for me. I mumbled my thanks and sat down. He quickly sat down across from me. I took the napkin from underneath the utensils and spread it across my lap neatly before looking over at Luke.

"Okay, explain," I said. I picked up my sandwich gingerly as he began.

Something clicked as Luke told me how this had all started. How, after he'd come back from his quest, he had been so angry at the gods. How he began to dream of Kronos, who promised him that he'd get his wish of tearing Olympus down stone by stone.

I recalled hearing this last summer, when Luke had lured Percy out into the woods. The memory had been fuzzy, as if submerged in water because I'd been in such a state of confusion and shock at the time. With Luke explaining it in greater detail, the memory came to the surface, sharp and crystal clear.

Anyway, the further he got into his story, the more I realized how Kronos was using him. And why Luke was unwilling to turn back now. They were in an exchange of hatred for the gods, a dangerous, toxic—dare I say it?—relationship.

Luke's hatred had begun with Thalia, and Zeus turning her into a tree, but after his quest it had magnified so much, it stirred Kronos. And the titan had simply made things worse. Not just by feeding off Luke's anger, but feeding it, as well. Whispering things to Luke, to make him even more angry and resentful.

Kelli wasn't exactly helping, either, with her charmspeak. She'd convinced Luke to poison Thalia's tree. With Thalia's spirit residing within, by default, she'd convinced Luke to poison his friend. Together, that _empousa_ and Kronos were twisting Luke's thoughts, getting him to do things he might not do if he wasn't being influenced by two monsters.

I decided it was my job to combat this. From the sound of it, hate only bred hate. I loved Luke, so that's how I would fight Kronos, and Kelli. I know, sounds completely and totally cliché, to the point of being painful—the power of love and all that. But, at the same time, it might just be cliché enough to work. And it wasn't like the power of love (any love, no one ever said it had to be romantic) notion had come from nowhere. It'd just become so overused and romanticized that people made fun of it. If you got down to it, it was true.

Love was always more powerful.

I swallowed my last bite of sandwich, the soup mostly gone because I'd been dipping, with a little difficulty and gazed at Luke. He seemed agitated, recounting all his anger, but he looked back at me with worry, searchingly. I carefully wiped the grease from my fingers, keeping my gaze on what I was doing.

"I'm sorry," I finally said, looking back up as I placed my napkin on my plate. Luke blinked, confusion dominating his face for a moment. It was almost immediately replaced by dread.

"What for?" he asked in strained voice.

"For not being there for you," I explained. The dread disappeared and the confusion returned. "I should've tried harder when you got back from your quest. I shouldn't have left you to your own devices. I should've pushed you harder to open up to me. I should've _been there for you_ and I wasn't. And I'm sorry for that."

I sat forward as I continued, "But I'm here for you now. Luke, I'm here for you,_ now_. You don't have to shoulder all of that anger alone. I love you, so I will share your pain. But you have to let me, first. Doing this, working with Kronos, isn't going to heal you, Luke. Let me take your burden and we can work through this together. Without titans and monsters and other angry demigods."

I reached across the table to take his hand, gripping it tightly.

"I'm not going to abandon you," I promised.

Luke inhaled sharply and stopped breathing. My grip unconsciously tightened on his hand, because I was afraid he'd pull away, and waited, holding my breath too. What I'd said, it was a big statement. I knew from all our time together, he had serious issues about being abandoned. He'd felt that's what his father had done and so bringing something like that up might've opened old wounds. At the same time, I was promising to do the opposite, hoping he'd see how serious I was about this.

Finally, Luke unfroze and let out his breath, slowly. I let out my own breath and kept my hold on his hand. He hadn't broken eye contact the whole time. Emotions flitted across his face and in his eyes at the speed of light, but settled on confusion. Only, it was a pained confusion, like he was questioning everything: What he'd done. Where he'd ended up. What the future held if he continued on the path with Kronos. Hope formed in my chest. Just a small little crystal, but it looked like I'd made an impact. I was getting to him.

Luke wet his lips, sitting forward, taking my hand more firmly. He swallowed hard before saying, "Tori, I…"

"Luke!" an all too familiar voice called, making my flinch. Luke and I both looked over to see Kelli coming toward us with two of the ship's guards, a _dracaena_ dressed in armor and wielding a sword. The _empousa_ had the Mist disguising her again and a wicked smile on her face. She was dressed in a flowing, pristine white summer dress, with brown, stitched accents.

"Go away, Kelli," I growled, glaring at her. She glared back as she approached us, but she had a smirk. My stomach dropped. She was up to something. Kelli turned to Luke.

"We have some very important things we need to discuss," she said, her voice sweeter, carrying a lot more weight. She was charmspeaking him again.

I gripped his hand. "Luke, don't," I said, trying to keep him focused on me.

"It's urgent," Kelli continued, laying on her charm thickly. Luke's gaze strayed from me to Kelli, dazed.

"_Luke_," I tried. His head snapped back to me and I held his icy blue eyes. "Please, don't listen to her. She's just going to brainwash you again." I was gripping his hand so tight now, I thought for sure he'd be in some kind of pain, but he didn't indicate it.

"Luke," Kelli purred, getting closer and running a finger under his chin while turning his face toward her. And even though her voice was still heavy with charmspeak, Luke pulled away. The crystal of hope grew. Too soon, because just then the air around us dropped ten degrees. A violent shiver went through me just as a shadow seemed to pass over Luke. His eyes darkened.

"No," I said, standing up and going over to Luke, shoving Kelli aside with my elbow. I tried to take his face into my hands, but Kronos had gotten to him. And so quickly too… He caught my wrists and stood up, forcing me to take a few steps back.

"Luke," I tried desperately, tears stinging my eyes. "Luke, don't listen to him, please." My voice was just above a whisper and shaking.

But it was too late. Luke was gone. I may have been able to combat Kelli's charmspeak, but she, together with Kronos, was no contest.

Luke looked over my shoulder at the guards Kelli had come with. "We'll take her back to her room," he instructed letting go of my wrists. "Guard her. Make sure she doesn't try to escape on our way there." The guards came forward and grabbed my upper forearms, dragging me back, to make room so Luke could slip by me. Kelli followed him. The guards turned me as Luke and Kelli started down the hall. I would've struggled more, tried to fight off these guys, but the _dracaena_ took up the rear, keeping the tip of her sword poking me right between the shoulders.

"No, Luke, please," I begged, wishing he'd turn around and _look_ at me, as I struggled against them. "Please, don't listen to him. Don't…" My voice broke and I didn't think I could continue on without breaking down into tears.

"Are you sure you don't want to just kill her?" Kelli suggested, looking over at Luke, her voice thick with charmspeak again. She started dragging her finger up and down Luke's arm, her eyes flickering back to glance at me. "I mean, she's _such_ nuisance—" She broke off on the account of Luke slapping her hand away and glaring at her.

"No, I am _not_ killing her," he told the _empousa_ in a cold voice before facing front again. The small crystal of hope reemerged. Maybe I couldn't combat their words when it came to what he was doing here, what Kronos wanted him to do to further his goal of world domination. But it seemed, the Luke I'd fallen in love with was still there, buried beneath all that anger and hatred.

Twice now, he'd had the chance to kill me, knowing full well that I wasn't going to be joining the likes of Kronos any time soon, yet, he hadn't. I had to believe it was because he did care about me, he did truly love me. There was hope after all, but it was a cautious, fragile hope. Not a crystal, I realized, but a flame, a small flame that could be easily blown out by the smallest blast of cold wind.

Luke opened the door and stepped aside as the guards threw me into the room. I stumbled, struggling to regain my balance. As soon as I did, I turned and launched myself at the door as Kelli was closing it, smiling triumphantly at me.

I ignored her. "Luke!" I yelled, but it was too late. The door slammed shut. I quickly tried the door knob, thinking Luke surely couldn't work _that_ fast. I was wrong. It was already locked. I pounded my fist against the door and called his name, but it did no use. The door stayed locked. I pressed my ear against the door, no sound or sign that they were out there anymore.

When dinnertime came around, food was brought to me on a rolling cart, like you'd see in five star hotels when ordering room service, by a disgruntled-looking demigod. When I peeked out the door, it was guarded by three other demigods, dressed in armor. I figured they were only there to make sure I didn't try to escape and would leave after the door closed, because of Luke's power to lock and unlock things.

I didn't see Luke.

I was tired, but when it came time to lay down and actually sleep, I found I couldn't. My mind was buzzing with the situation I'd gotten myself stuck in. A prisoner. A prisoner on a ship full of monsters and angry demigods who were following Kronos and wanting to start a war with the gods. I didn't even know my part, my place in all of this anymore. I wasn't on Kronos's side, but I'd left camp, I'd _spied_ on camp for Luke. What did that make me?

I didn't know what time is was, but I finally fell asleep. Of course, as soon as I did fall asleep, I dreamed.

I was back in the admiralty suite. Like the first time I dreamed of this place, it was dark out. But this time, the lights were off. Not that they needed to be. The room was basked in a faint glow of golden light. It was dim at the front of the room, where the double doors were. The light grew brighter the closer you got to the back of the room. In other words, the closer you got to the golden coffin on the dais, the brighter it got. The room was also freezing.

Kneeling in front of the coffin was Kelli in _empousa_ form. Luke was nowhere to be seen. As I crept closer—crept because I knew she could sense me, even though this was a dream—I noticed her head was bowed and her eyes were closed. The air also grew colder. If I'd actually been in the room, my breath probably would've condensed.

It looked like Kelli was concentrating on…something. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

Suddenly she spoke, making me jump, "Yes, my lord. I am sorry—" She broke off, wincing.

My lord? I looked at the glowing coffin. Was she seriously communicating with Kronos right now? Was that even possible? I had no idea what the coffin was for, no one had told me and I spent my time locked up in that blasted room, so it wasn't like I could listen to what the word was on the ship.

But I had a pretty good idea, what with it glowing and Kelli kneeling in front of it like there was a king sitting on his throne rather than a coffin on a dais.

"No, my lord," Kelli said in a restrained voice, her eyes blinking open. I didn't think an _empousa_ could look scared with flaming hair and ruby red eyes, but Kelli was pulling it off. "I _can_ do this. As you said, I am the best. More powerful among my sisters. I am simply flirting because it helps with the charmspeak. However…" She trailed off, hesitant.

There was a pause and she lifted her head to look at the coffin. "The girl seems to be a problem," Kelli said carefully. "I _hate_ to say it, but a big one." She sounded grudging. Girl? What girl…? "Luke has fallen in love—" She broke off again and a jolt ran through me. Could she be talking about me? I mean, I couldn't think of any other girls that Luke could've fallen in love with other than Annabeth, but she wasn't here. In fact, she was with Percy, who Luke hated. Maybe he still cared about her, like he did me, but their relationship had to be, well…complicated right now.

I suppose I was one to talk. My relationship was just as complicated, if not more so, because of the fact that we were romantically involved.

"No, my lord—" Kelli tried, but broke off again. She waited. "If I may, my lord, I don't think that doing so would be a good idea—" She broke off again and tensed, her eyes closing. The coffin glowed brighter. Kelli swallowed hard. "No, not at all, my lord, but if the girl dies and Luke knows you are the one behind it, I don't think that he will do what you want anymore." She paused before continuing, speaking like she was trying to swallow gravel, "He loves her too much."

I tried not to let my flame of hope grow, but it was almost good to hear that from what someone else saw (especially a monster from Tartarus) Luke did really love me. He wasn't perfect, being a demigod trying to raise the titan lord didn't make it any less complicated or difficult, but no one was perfect.

But also, a bit more concerning, was the fact that Kelli and Kronos were working out a plot to kill me and make it look like an accident. I guess I'd have to be more careful now. I was glad they hadn't liberated my weapons (yet), even though they'd had the chance to when I'd gone to lunch with Luke. That meant, I actually had protection in case something _did_ happen.

"It may be ridiculous and only for the weak, my lord," Kelli started breaking me from my thoughts. "But Luke is turning out to _be_ weak, because it's having a huge effect on him." She waited while Kronos replied. A cruel smile appeared on her face, her red eyes flashing with excitement. It made my stomach churn and my heart migrate into my throat.

"As you wish, my lord." Kelli stood, staring out the windows behind the dais for a moment before she turned, looking straight at me. I froze as, like last time, she lunged at me, fangs bared, hands outstretched, nails now claws. I bolted upright in bed, gasping, rubbing my throat to get rid of the feeling of her hands around my neck.

The room was dark but I had an eerie feeling that something was watching me. I didn't know if it was because I was half awake or because of the dream I had, but I leaped off the bed, getting tangled up in the sheets, and tripped my way over to the light switch. I flicked it on and sunk to the ground, back pressed against the wall, eyes darting around the room frantically. There was no sign of an intruder, but that feeling of being watched didn't completely go away. I wanted to get up and go turn on the bathroom's light too, but I was petrified with fear.

I didn't know where it came from or how long I was going to feel like this, but I couldn't get myself to move. Even an inch. I sat there for however long, my eyes sweeping over the room countless times as my heart rate decelerated.

I was still trembling when I finally managed to move again. Only, it was to simply reach out for a pillow I'd knocked off the bed in my rush to the light switch and to pull off the covers I'd gotten tangled up in. I sat next to the door, beneath the light switch, hugging the pillow tightly to my chest, bundled up in blankets, and reluctantly closed my eyes. I'd open them once in a while to check the room, but finally exhaustion won over and my eyes closed and didn't open until the morning.

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><p><strong>All right guys, this might be the last time I'll be posting for a while. As I said, spring semester of college is beginning tomorrow for me, and studies always come first. I will write and post when I can. I hope you'll be patient with me.<strong>

**Title taken from Taylor Swift's "I Know Places."**

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><p><strong>To Alexis: Well, I don't think they're boring, I'm glad to hear that you're still enjoying the story. But, admittedly, your long review made me very, very happy. I had so much fun reading it.<strong>

**Haha, I was hoping you wouldn't catch that ;) Seriously though, it's true. I knew I was treading dangerous waters writing "anything." It does sound pretty bad on Luke's part, doesn't it? I hope that it's been kind of made up in this chapter…? Made up isn't the word I'm looking for—maybe redeemed—but I hope you get the point. Also, I hope it doesn't sound like I'm trying to make excuses for him, either. That's not what I want to do.**

**It's not mentioned in either of the main series, but it is mentioned in **_**The Demigod Diaries**_**. And yeah, I agree they should have some kind of powers from their godly father. I think it's pretty cool that that's the ability that Rick came up with.**

**Oh, yes. There are so many components to keep track of. I hope that the characters have stayed in character and I hope that my OC doesn't seem like a Mary Sue. If she's starting to seem like one, feel free to tell me. But, yes, people are always very suspicious of OCs.**

**I think that your review was beautifully done. Thank you for taking that time to write it!**

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><p><strong>And, again, I hope you'll all be patient with me as far as updates go as I start college again.<strong>

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


	19. Nineteen

Don't Need Another Perfect Lie

After that dream, I moved my bed into the far corner of the room (as far away from the door as possible) so that there was only one way to attack from. I kept my weapons next to me on the bed for easy access. I put my dagger in its ankle sheath, just in case something happened and I was either weaponless or taken forcibly from the room. I slept light, something I'd learned while living in the Hermes cabin.

Luke gave me new pairs of clothes. I was allowed to wash my laundry, but was escorted by two demigods, two monsters and two guards from the ship. I thought it was ridiculous. Why was keeping me prisoner on this ship so crucial to what Luke was doing.

If I was being completely honest, though, I was actually grateful that he hadn't sent me back to camp or killed me. It told me he still loved me, in some way, and he didn't want me going anywhere. I was making some kind of difference here. I just had to find a way talk to Luke more. As always, he was making it rather difficult. In other words, he'd been avoiding me.

I just couldn't understand why he was doing it, why he was _so_ against seeing me, let alone talking to me. Whenever my door was opened, I never saw him. I called for him, knowing he was probably right around the corner, but got no response.

A few nights after my initial dream of Kelli talking to Kronos, I had another dream about Kelli talking to Luke. Like usual, it took place in the admiralty suite. This time it was the middle of the day. The sky and sea were a bright blue, but I could actually distinguish where one ended and the other began. The sun shone brightly through the windows of the suite—no need for lights. Luke's sword was currently sheathed and strapped around his waist.

They were both standing, glaring at each other.

"That's ridiculous," Luke scoffed, stepping away from Kelli, rolling his eyes. "You don't give me orders." he continued, turning his piercing gaze back to the _empousa_ was disguised with Mist. Even so, she looked deadly pissed. "I'm the one who runs this ship, remember. I could send you back to Tartarus so fast if I so please, you wouldn't have time to _empousa_." To prove his point, he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Despite Kelli being the powerful _empousa_ I knew she could be, she glanced nervously at the sword and swallowed hard. She managed to stand her ground, however.

"Luke," Kelli said carefully, lacing charmspeak into her words. "I'm not giving you order. On the contrary, I'm simply telling you, you shouldn't discuss our plans with your…girlfriend." Kelli stepped forward, flirtatiously. Luke blinked and I could tell the charmspeak was working. I wanted to tackled Kelli and send her back to Tartarus myself—I should've that first night—but, alas, this was a dream.

"Just…stay away from her for a little bit, okay?" Kelli said. "If you _must_—"

Luke pulled away suddenly, his eyes clearing and becoming cold again.

"Stop doing that," he snapped. "I'm not going to stay away from her _just_ because you say so." His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword again.

Kelli let out a sharp sigh, cocking a hip and crossing her arm over her chest. The Mist flickered momentarily, revealing her true form.

"Okay, look," she said in a peeved voice, no charmspeak detectable. "I didn't want to have to do this, because I really like you, but if you don't agree to stop seeing that girl, I'm going to have to kill her." She said this like a mother saying she was going to have to take away a misbehaving child's toy.

The knuckles on Luke's hand turned white. "Do you honestly think I would _ever_ let you—?"

"There are ways," Kelli interrupted. "I'm not the only monster capable of killing her. They may follow you, but direct orders from Kronos will not be ignored. You best remember that."

Luke's jaw tightened but it looked like he couldn't think of how to respond. A series of emotions flitted across his face, settling on an outraged mixed with concerned and worried look. And Kelli could see that.

She smirked, but tried to hide it, not very well, though. "That's what I thought." And for the first time since dreaming about her, she didn't attack me, she left the suite, leaving Luke alone with the coffin. It pulsed with its evil energy, chilling the room. The dream faded to black like the end of some kind romance movie. I was plunged into darkness and woke with a start the next day.

I assumed, because Luke had been avoiding me ever since the day he took me to breakfast and told me how this all started, that this conversation had taken place a few days ago, too. Possibly the day after the night Kelli spoke with Kronos.

That dream would also explain why I hadn't been killed yet. Because my life was now being held as leverage against Luke. It was the only thing stopping him from seeing me, talking to me. Which made me a little more than pissed off at all of this. At what was happening. At the complexity of being a demigod.

After days of monotonous prisoner life, albeit pretty luxurious prisoner life, I decided I couldn't just sit around her and do nothing while Kronos and Kelli continued to brainwash and convince Luke to help the titan lord rise. Coming here had, obviously, been a mistake on my part. I thought I'd be able to do something, but it was becoming painfully apparent that I couldn't.

I wasn't feeling so great about myself, admitting this, either. I didn't want to leave Luke, but I couldn't just sit around while Kronos tried to take over the world. I couldn't just sit around while Kronos _used_ Luke. And I couldn't shake the feeling that Luke didn't realize just how much Kronos was planning for him. I wasn't quite sure what exactly the titan was planning, but I was having horrible dreams again.

They were vague, like the last ones I'd had months before the events actually took place, but they involved Luke having strange golden eyes. A shadow seemed to have fallen across his face. His expression cold and harsh. That was mostly it. I'd be running to him, his back to me and when I got to him, he'd turn around and I'd see those golden eyes and harsh expression. I couldn't fathom what that meant.

For some reason, it was really unsettling. I always woke up in a cold sweat and hear the echo of what sounded like laughter. I started sleeping with the lights on.

As I was saying, though, I decided I'd try another attempt at escaping. Actual break-down-the-door escaping, though. This is what I'd thought of when I was awake and had nothing to do but pace in my suite. I was no daughter of Athena, but I knew how locks and doors worked.

This door didn't have a deadbolt, so all I had to worry about was the latch on the doorknob. I started to work on that door as soon as I got up that morning. I wasn't thinking about the fact that I got three periodic visits for food, but it turns out I didn't need to worry about that because they never showed up. I'd find out why later, but at the time I was focused on getting out of here. (Before you say it, I tried the pins in the hinges, I didn't have the right tools to get them out. And they were _really_ in there.)

I suppose, if they had visited me like they usually did, I could've tried escaping then. The thing was, I was surrounded by six different types of fighters plus Luke. There was no way I was going to get passed that in such cramped quarters.

So with my gear ready (just in case), which was my backpack with a clean pair of clothes, the ambrosia and nectar, my bow and quiver of arrows, my nightstick, and my sword at my side, I started picking at the wood of the doorframe near where the latch of the knob was. I was using my dagger to do this.

Now, as I said before, this was some finely made wood, but I was picking at it like a pickaxe, splintering it and pulling out as many pieces of wood as I could to weaken the strength of the frame around the latch. It took me nearly all day. I didn't pay attention to time or hunger, I developed tunnel vision on my goal of getting out of here.

If I had had more time, I probably could've made my way all the way to the latch and just pulled the door free, but I didn't. I wasn't patient enough. I'd managed to push down my ADHD and focus on that task for most of the day. At this point, I wanted out and _now_.

So when I figured I'd made a good enough dent in the wood, I sheathed my dagger at my ankle and went to grab the sheets from the bed. I tied them together before tying one end to the door knob. I moved my bed back to where it had been before and then pulled the remaining rope of sheets across the foot of the bed to gain leverage. Then I pulled.

It took a few tries and I was losing faith in my plan and dreading having to go back to picking at the door again, but at about the sixth time, with one more mighty pull, the door slammed open. The wood cracked and splintered and was thrown into the wall, but I'd done it. I was thrown back, but I'd managed to break the door down, so it didn't really matter.

I quickly stood, unshouldered my bow and notched an arrow, in case Luke or Kelli had stationed guards outside my door on the off chance I found a way to escape. I watched for a count of thirty before creeping up to the door and peeking out. No guards. I looked up and down the hallways. Also empty.

With one last glance around the room and a quick inventory of the things I had with me, I entered the hallway and started making my way to the nearest YOU ARE HERE sign. I was thinking, if we were out at sea, I'd take a lifeboat. If we were docked, I'd find a way to exit safely that didn't involve any death-defying jumps from the side. I didn't come this far just to die.

As I made my way through the halls, I got edgier and edgier, because I didn't encounter anyone. No glazed-eyed passengers, no guards, no monsters, no demigods. It was strange and unnerving. Something was up, but I wasn't sure what. It was good and bad in that I was more alert. At the same time, being more alert didn't exactly help me when Kelli managed to sneak up on me.

I'd been so focused on making it out of here, glancing down a hallway to make sure it was clear that I didn't realize she was standing right next to me until she spoke.

"Hi," she said basically in my ear. I whirled around and pulled away, automatically shooting an arrow at her, but we were much too close and she'd learned from the last few times encountering me—she caught the arrow before it could hit her in the face. With a smirk she threw it aside as two guards from the ship appeared at my side, grabbing my arms roughly.

I gritted my death and glared at Kelli, who was in full _empousa_ mode.

"Let's go, we're missing the party," she said, smugness oozing from her very being. She spun around the two guards started dragging me forward, following her. They hadn't confiscated my weapons, which I thought was odd, but didn't question. As we walked, I started trying to think of a plan. I wasn't sure how much time I would have, but I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I'd kept from dusting Kelli before, but now, I wasn't going to hesitate to send her back to the pit.

I still had my bow in my right left hand, but I didn't know that it'd do much damage. Even to the guards, maybe just stun them. I wasn't going to use my sword, so the nightstick it was. Maybe I'd be able to stun Kelli long enough to unsheathe my sword.

We turned down another hallway and, without warning, I slammed the guard on my left into the wall as hard as I could—pulling from the guard on my right's grasp—while simultaneously pulling my nightstick and hitting the other guard over the head. Both guards crumpled. The one on my left, however, wasn't knocked out. I couldn't worry about them too much, though, because there was still Kelli.

She'd turned around as soon as I'd made noise and was currently approaching me. I tried to hit her with my nightstick, not having time to draw my sword, but she blocked with her arm. My wrist hit her arm hard enough that the nightstick was knocked from my hand. Before I could do much of anything, let alone pull another weapon, she grabbed my outstretched wrist and spun me around, twisting my arm behind my back and slamming me into the wall.

I couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped my lips. I tried to pull away from her, but she pulled my arm up and pain rocketed through my body. I gritted my teeth and tried not to scream more.

"Too bad," Kelli sang in my ear. I automatically tried to pull away, but her grip tightened on my wrist. More pain hit me and black spots danced across my vision. "Now," she said sweetly as she pulled me away from the wall but put her other hand's claws-for-nails around my throat, pressing the tips in just enough to cause discomfort. "_Behave_ and I won't dislocate your arm." As if to prove her point, she pulled my arm up a tiny bit more. I couldn't stop the whimper that bubbled up to the surface.

With that, Kelli began leading me down the halls again. The one guard that was still awake followed us.

We walked onto a deck, through some double doors, with a pool and fountains that sprayed mist into the air. Gathered were a collection of monsters and demigods in battle armor. They were standing in front of the pool. Luke was standing a little in front of the group, facing four others, whose backs were to me and Kelli as we entered. The guard that had been behind us closed the doors, but stayed on the other side.

Luke looked stunned to see me and Kelli. The four that were facing him and his little group turned slightly to see what Luke was looking at, too, and I realized it was Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson.

I didn't know what was going on, but I looked back at Luke and met his gaze as Kelli walked us forward.

"Luke," she called a bit unnecessarily. "I brought you a little present." She stopped me near the four, then threw me down, finally letting go of my arm. I managed to catch myself with my hands before I could do a face plant into hardwood floors. I tried to stand up but Kelli kicked me in the back. "Ah, ah, ah, stay down." she chided.

I gritted my teeth and fisted my hands, trying to restrain myself. Instead I sat back and looked up at Luke. I couldn't read the expression on his face or in his eyes.

His gaze went to Kelli, behind me.

"What are you doing?" he asked flatly, gripping his sword, which he had out.

I could feel Kelli's red eyes bear down on me. "Go ahead, little demigod, tell him."

Luke's eyebrows furrowed and he looked back at me, expectantly. I met his gaze evenly but said nothing.

"Tell him, or I will," Kelli spat through gritted teeth. I still didn't say anything. "Fine!" she shouted, making some of the demigods in the audience behind Luke jump. "I'll have to tell him, then." There was a hint of amusement in her voice. "This one right here is trying to _save_ Luke!" She announced before laughing. This was echoed, more quietly, by the group of monsters and demigods.

I kept my eyes on Luke, whose face hardened, blue eyes flashing with anger and frustration when Kelli had said that. He raised his sword, signaling for silence and the crowd obeyed.

"I _don't_ need saving," he spat.

This made me angry. And all the pent up anger that'd been building up suddenly hit me. My anger at Luke, my anger at Kelli, my anger at the stupid monsters and demigods who thought it was ridiculous that I would attempt to save the one I loved. All of it. It washed over me like a tidal wave.

I started to stand and when Kelli tried to stop me by leaning down toward me to grab my shoulders, I elbowed her in the base of the throat. I turned slightly, simultaneously sliding one foot back into hers to trip her while one of my hands grabbed her neck and slammed her down onto the deck floor. I then straightened up and put my foot on her neck. She started to reach up with her hands, ready to rake her claws across my leg but I unsheathed my sword and slammed the tip down into the floor right next to her face so hard I'd managed to embed it about half an inch deep. She froze.

"I am not opposed to sending you back to Tartarus," I growled in a low, dangerous voice. Kelli glared up at me but retracted her hands and instead crossed her arms, pouting. A strange look on an _empousa_'s face, but I didn't care.

I kept my hand on the top of the hilt of my sword and looked back at Luke.

"Kronos is _using_ you, Luke," I stated for the umpteenth time. But I would say it as many times at it took to convince Luke of this. I swept my gaze over all the demigods in the audience. "All of you." Then I looked back at Luke. "He's going to dispose of you as soon as he get what he's wants.

Luke's own anger heightened. His jaw tightened and so did the grip on his sword.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he snarled back. I thought I saw a flash of pain in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly I couldn't be sure if I'd simply imagined it. "I thought you understood." he said quietly. "You of all people—I thought you'd understand what I'm doing." His eyes hardened into crystals. "I can see I thought wrong."

Instead of feeling the pain I thought I was going to, I felt more anger. He thought I didn't understand?

I unstuck my sword from the deck, going forward, toward Luke. I made no motion of actually fighting him, and neither did he, as I came forward, but his followers behind him shifted uneasily.

"I don't understand?" I asked in a dangerous whisper. "Need I remind you that I had to _watch_, _helplessly_, as my mother was ripped open by a hellhound? I had to hear her scream and cry out for Apollo's help." I swallowed hard. Tears stung my eyes and my throat felt like it was closing up, but I continued. "Guess what I learned at last winter's field trip to Olympus. He'd heard her. He'd heard her cries for help and did nothing. Maybe I need to remind you that the hellhound attacked me after it made sure my mom was no longer a threat." My voice was thick. I gripped my sword, trying to keep myself from crying.

"Or maybe," I continued, "I should remind you how _humiliated_ I felt when Apollo claimed my brother and not me." I took another step toward Luke. "So, don't you _dare_ tell me I don't understand."

Luke's glare had lessoned throughout my speech. But he still looked a little angry, if not confused.

"Then why are you trying to 'save' me?" he asked in a whisper. "If you hate the gods as much as I do, why are you helping _them_ and not me?"

"I'm not doing it for them," I told him.

He blinked, his sword dipping slightly. His eyebrows furrowed. "I don't understand."

"I'm doing it for _you_," I clarified feverishly, hopefully. I was getting to him. I continued on quickly, breathlessly. "I am and always will be on your side. I'm doing this for you, because I love you, Luke. I couldn't care _less_ about what the gods want. If it saves _you_, then I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Luke gazed at me for a long time and I held it, waiting. I saw every emotion flicker through his eyes. Anger, confusion, doubt, longing (the best way I can describe it), back to anger, more confusion, less doubt. His sword arm dropped more. I felt the flame of hope flicker and grow. I took a step toward him, wetting my lips and swallowing hard, but the temperature around us plummeted, like it had when Luke had taken me to lunch.

I froze as I saw a shadow pass over Luke's face. His eyes darkened and became angry again, a black rage I'd never seen in him before save once: when Percy came back from his quest to return the lightning bolt.

"No," I whispered. I took another step toward him. "Luke—" I stopped and veered back slightly for he'd raised his sword so fast I was almost impaled right between my eyes. I tried to look past the tip and at Luke, which I found surprisingly hard to do.

"Luke—" I tried again but he pressed me, forcing me back again.

"Stop talking," he interrupted in a calm, quiet voice. I gripped my own sword and gritted my teeth. "Sheath your weapon." he ordered in the same voice.

I was being stubborn. I kept my eyes trained on him and said, "Don't listen to him—"

Luke moved his sword's point to the base of my throat, the tip resting right between my collar bones, and pressed me back again.

"Sheath—your—weapon," he repeated slowly. Restraining myself from doing anything more and/or stupid, I slowly sheathed my sword and showed him my empty hands. He pulled his sword back just a bit, watching me for a moment. Then he turned and pointed to two demigods in the group behind him with his sword. "You and you, take her back to her room with Kelli, guard the door."

"Yes, sir," they chorused before rushing forward and grabbing my upper forearms, pulling me back, toward the double doors Kelli and I had first come through.

"Luke, please," I pleaded, struggling against the guards. "Don't listen to him!"

Kelli stepped forward. "Sir, are you sure you want to leave her with her weapons?" She smirked at me and I stopped my pleading momentarily to glare at her.

Luke eyed my weapons, I continued to pull against the two holding me.

"Fine, put them in the admiralty suite," he finally said. Kelli looked into the crowd and nodded. Like this had been practiced before a hellhound and _dracaena_ came forward. I swallowed hard and tried not to lean away from the hellhound, but my struggles became smaller. The _dracaena_ slither-walked forward (I tried not to cringe) and ripped the sword from my waist. One of the demigods had to momentarily let go of one arm (at a time) to get my bow and quiver and backpack.

I tried to look past the _dracaena_ and at Luke, trying to pull away from my guards. "Don't listen to Kronos, Luke! He's using you!"

"One more little detail," Kelli said, ignoring me. "I'm sure the drakon would enjoy a nice meal. I don't think he's been fed in ages. Are you sure you don't want to just throw her down there? It would make all our lives _so_ much easier."

I waited, holding my breath, stopping my struggling completely.

Scary thing was, Luke hesitated. I looked at him, bewildered and afraid that he'd actually do what Kelli was suggesting. But then I saw his facial expression change. He looked physically pained. I was hoping at the thought of killing me. I could see the war going on behind his eyes as his emotions fought against Kronos's words. But after a long, tense moment, his eyes cleared. The shadow disappeared and so did the rage. At the very least, they lessoned enough to be noticeable.

"No," Luke said quietly. "Take her back to her room. Make sure she doesn't escape. I have more"—his eyes strayed to Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson still standing where they'd been when I first arrived—"pressing matters to attend to." His eyes went back to Kelli. He seemed dazed, like the mental battle has physically worn him out.

Kelli looked like she wanted to object but Luke's eyes hardened. "Go. Now. That's an order. Don't forget who's in charge here. You _are_ replaceable."

Kelli didn't like that at all, but she held her tongue, for once, and spun around, going over to the double doors and flinging them open without a backward glance. The two other monsters followed behind her and the two demigods, holding me, took up the rear, pulling me back.

"Luke! Please, just listen to me!" I yelled, struggling against them, not making much leeway. "He's using you! Kronos is _using_ you! Don't listen to him, _please_!" I continued shouting this as they dragged me through the doors. I continued trying to slip from their grasp, which I occasionally did, but they were quick to grab me again.

I didn't stop screaming as they pulled me around the corner and down the hall. Eventually I realized it wasn't worth it anymore. I was too far away. It wasn't like he could hear me anymore.

As soon as I calmed down, I tried to think of a way to break away from my guards. I needed to get my weapons back. That was the first thing. A huge problem, too. I could maybe take down the two demigods without weapons, the problem was the monsters. One of them was heavily armed, mostly with my own weapons. The other was a hellhound. And the last was a very pissed of _empousa_ who could move surprisingly fast.

The odds were most certainly not in my favor, so I wasn't going to try. Not now, anyway.

It was quiet as we walked. At some point Kelli turned toward the _dracaena_ and muttered something too quiet for me to hear. The snake woman nodded and slither-walked off down one of the opposite halls toward, I assumed, the admiralty suite, because that's where Luke had instructed them to take the items.

At some point, close to my suite, we came to a crossroads in the hallway. Kelli suddenly stopped in the middle, the two demigods holding me doing the same. My alarm bells started to go off. I looked around the deserted hallways and then at my two guards, still holding my arms. They were looking at Kelli expectantly.

I looked back at Kelli who was now facing the three of us. She nodded, and like it'd been rehearsed, the two demigods let go of my arms and walked off in either direction, down the left and right halls, before turning a corner and disappearing.

I turned my gaze back to Kelli just in time to see her lunge at me, teeth bared, hands outstretched with nails unsheathed. If I hadn't already determined that this situation was weird after we'd stopped here, I probably wouldn't have been expecting an attack. As it was, Kelli had been pretty obvious about this fact, which worried me, but I couldn't exactly dwell on that now.

I rolled under her while going for my dagger at my ankle, glad I'd made the decision to keep it hidden. At least I still had this. While I would have preferred my sword or better yet, my bow and arrows, this would have to do. Kelli had made the wonderful suggestion to take away all my other weapons.

I pushed myself to my feet as soon as I completed the roll and brandished my knife. Kelli hesitated, glancing at it in surprise and disgust. She snarled, turning her burning red eyes back on me.

"You're going to need more than that—" she started, breaking off because I came at her, swinging my arm down at her neck, trying to stab her around that area. She blocked, pushing my arm away and I swung my other fist up trying to hit her in the lower ribs. She blocked that attack as I swung my knife at her again. Because I was closer she had to lean back and step back. I took advantage of this and quickly stepped forward, hooking my foot behind her ankle and sending her wayward.

I didn't hesitate this time as I went up to her, straddled her, getting down onto my knees so it was easier for me to stab her, and then brought my blade down at her chest. Only, it never made it. My hand froze just a moment away from running my blade through her chest.

Pain ripped through me, a burning, searing pain I'd never felt before, starting on my left side, beneath my ribcage. The burning flared out, like an explosion throughout my body, setting my veins on fire, boiling the water right out of my blood. My breath staggered and I suddenly found it was becoming harder and harder to breath. My whole body started trembling. My vision blurred and spun, going from unfocused to focused, which made it disorienting.

When I looked down, I saw a sword—_my_ sword—sticking into my left side. I had time enough to wonder how she'd gotten hold of it, because I'd definitely _seen_ the _dracaena_ walk off with it, before I realized I should pull away. Celestial bronze wasn't only damaging to monsters. The thing about it though, it didn't just wound demigods physically, it also wounded their very beings, their souls. So I wasn't sure what this meant for me.

As if she knew that I was going to pull away, Kelli grinned wickedly, quickly leaning up, toward me and putting a hand on the back of my neck. She pulled me forward, pushing the sword straight through me, and didn't stop until it was hilt-deep. We were nose to nose. All I could see were her blazing red eyes. Much like that of a hellhound, actually, now that I thought about it.

Kelli then pulled away from me, letting go of the back of my neck and the sword hilt. I was just barely able to catch myself as she slithered out from underneath me. I was struggling just to get another breath in. My vision was going dark. Kelli was speaking, but her voice sounded distant and like I'd been submerged in water.

I hit the floor slightly on my right side, to avoid further damage to my wound. Not that it really mattered though. The Celestial bronze had pierced my skin. I was pretty much done for. I reached for the sword with my left hand, gripping the hilt, but I couldn't get myself to pull it out. I had no leverage to be able to pull it out quickly or without causing any more damage. If I did, I'd probably bleed out and die before the magic of the bronze killed me anyway.

With that decided I laid there, still gripping the hilt of my sword. My right arm partially outstretched, laying over the hilt of my dagger. I was dying, but slowly. My vision continued to swim, so I closed my eyes. The pain had seemed to reach some sort of peak and stayed there, burning my body from the inside out. I found I didn't mind.

Maybe pulling out my sword was my best option. At least the end would be quicker. Then again, maybe I was holding out. Maybe I was stupidly and naïvely optimistic that Luke would find me after he was done with whatever he needed to do.

Who was I kidding with that fantasy, though? Kronos and Kelli were working their magic over him and it was obviously working. Even if he did come to visit me, how long would that be? How long was that thing out on the deck going to take? Could I hold on that long?

These were the thoughts going through my head as my vision turned murky and dark, and the pain started to slowly fade away.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so super long chapter. It's been a while. Kind of cliffhanger, but I'll ease the pain a bit and assure you I'm not going to kill off my main character. This is not the end. Far from it, my friends. My mind is teeming with so many ideas. Now that we've moved past this, we can get to the real juicy, real emotional stuff. It's going to be great.<strong>

**Also, if you're wondering, since I don't know how long it'll be before I post the next chapter (and I don't even know if I'll include it in the next chapter), Kelli manipulated the Mist to make it look like the **_**dracaena**_** had taken Tori's things to the admiralty suite, when in reality, she had, at the very least, Tori's sword with her.**

**Title taken from "Secrets" by OneRepublic.**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed!**

**And I hope you'll stick this out with me to the end (of the line), because there's so much more to come. This was kind a roadblock for me, so now that I've gotten past it, hopefully the ideas will flow seamlessly onto the page. Even if I don't write as often as I'd like, my hope is that I'll be able to get a good majority done when I do, so you don't have to wait too much longer for chapters.**

**To FadedSunset: Yeah, wasn't looking good for Tori. Still isn't…but again, I'm not going to kill her off, so there's that. Anyway, that's an excellent question. Here's her first attempt. More to come. *wink wink* And thanks! It's going well so far—so much so that I was able to write and post! Here's to hoping it'll be like this most of my semester. Hope to talk to you soon! ^_^**

**Thank you for reading,  
>TheBrightestNight<strong>


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